IntroductionComorbid bipolar disorder (BD) and substance use disorder (SUD) in adolescence is associated with poor clinical outcomes, yet the independent and interactive contributions of impulsivity and emotion dysregulation remain poorly understood.MethodsThis cross-sectional study employed a 2 × 2 factorial design to examine impulsivity, measured with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11, and emotion regulation difficulties, measured with the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, across four groups of adolescents (N = 128; aged 12–18 years): BD+SUD (n = 32), BD-only (n = 32), SUD-only (n = 32), and healthy controls (n = 32). All clinical participants were assessed during euthymia. Factorial analyses of covariance controlled for age, sex, residence, family structure, and income.ResultsSignificant BD × SUD interactions were found for emotion regulation, F(1,120) = 35.89, p < .001, ηp2 = .230, and impulsivity, F(1,120) = 9.51, p = .002, ηp2 = .073. The BD+SUD group showed the highest scores on both measures, exceeding the SUD-only group by 38.90 points on emotion dysregulation and 26.72 points on impulsivity. In the substance-using subsample (n = 64), impulsivity was the strongest predictor of substance use severity (B = 0.61, p < .001; R2 = .48). The BD+SUD group also displayed earlier illness onset, mixed-feature predominance, greater polydrug use, and exclusive high-lethality suicide attempts. Low income was the strongest exploratory predictor of clinical group membership.DiscussionThese findings support an additive comorbidity model in which BD and SUD jointly amplify impulsivity and emotion dysregulation, and they highlight the need for integrated, impulsivity-focused interventions in adolescents with dual diagnoses.
Testing STAR and TextSTAR: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Conditions: Sexual Violence; Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD); Opioid Misuse
Interventions: Behavioral: Skills Training in Active Recovery (STAR) Video; Behavioral: Text Skills Training in Active Recovery (TextSTAR) program
Sponsors: University of Wisconsin, Madison; National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Not yet recruiting
Interventions: Behavioral: Skills Training in Active Recovery (STAR) Video; Behavioral: Text Skills Training in Active Recovery (TextSTAR) program
Sponsors: University of Wisconsin, Madison; National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Not yet recruiting
Opinion: Sen. Dick Durbin: Trump is letting Big Tobacco target children
When I was 14 years old, I lost my father to lung cancer. He was 53 and smoked two packs of Camels a day. I have made it a priority during my time in Congress to champion policies that help spare others from this tragedy.
Smoking rates have hit record lows. In 1988, I passed legislation that banned smoking on domestic flights, marking the start of cigarettes disappearing from public spaces.
Aggression and emotional distress in adolescents: a cross-sectional chain mediation model of internet addiction and somatization
BackgroundAdolescent depression and anxiety are major public health concerns. Aggression is frequently associated with internalizing symptoms, but the behavioral and body related mechanisms underlying this association remain insufficiently clarified. This study examined a theoretically proposed chain mediation model linking aggression with depressive and anxiety symptoms through internet addiction and somatization.MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted among 5,307 high school students in Chongqing, China. Participants filled in the Buss and Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ), Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Patient Health Questionnaire – 15 (PHQ – 15), Patient Health Questionnaire – 9 (PHQ – 9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale – 7 (GAD – 7). Regression based chain mediation analyses with 5,000 bootstrap samples were performed using PROCESS Model 6, with gender and age controlled as covariates.ResultsThe results showed that aggression was positively correlated with depressive symptoms (β = 0.256, p < 0.001) and anxiety symptoms (β = 0.275, p < 0.001). Chain mediation analysis showed that aggression was indirectly associated with mental health through three distinct pathways: 1. the independent mediating effect of internet addiction; 2. the independent mediating effect of somatization; 3. the sequential chain mediating effect from internet addiction to somatization. The model explained more variance in depressive symptoms (R² = 58.2%) than in anxiety symptoms (R² = 53.5%). Furthermore, the association between somatization and depressive symptoms (β = 0.457) was stronger than that between somatization and anxiety symptoms (β = 0.428).ConclusionThis study supports a statistically significant chain mediation pattern in which aggression is associated with depressive and anxiety symptoms through internet addiction and somatization. The findings suggest that somatization may represent an important body related correlate in the association between maladaptive digital behavior and emotional distress, with a slightly stronger association observed for depressive symptoms than for anxiety symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of integrated school based interventions that address digital behavior regulation, somatic symptom monitoring, and emotional distress among adolescents with higher aggressive tendencies.
Craving fullness: a fullness-seeking phenotype that blurs the line between binge eating disorder and food addiction
Food addiction and binge eating disorder show striking clinical overlap that current diagnostic frameworks do not fully capture. In binge eating disorder samples, Yale Food Addiction Scale-defined food addiction has been reported in roughly half of participants. Higher symptom severity is associated with greater impairment. Within this overlap, clinicians frequently observe a subset of patients whose compulsive eating is organized around the pursuit of extreme fullness rather than palatability for specific trigger foods. Compulsive high-volume eating (CHVE) refers to recurrent, distressing episodes of consuming dangerously large volumes of food, often to the point of marked gastric distension. In some cases, the food is low-caloric or non-hedonic, and the dominant motivator is the interoceptive target state of extreme fullness rather than taste. This Perspectives article focuses on fullness-seeking as a high-volume pattern within binge eating disorder phenomenology that has received little attention in the food addiction literature. It extends prior work that framed volume addiction within compulsive high-volume eating as a public health issue. The focus here is clinical formulation, not the public health case. Evidence from reward learning, gut-brain signaling, gastrointestinal physiology, and neuroendocrinology suggests that this pattern may be rooted in binge eating disorder. It may identify a subset of patients with addiction-like dynamics. These cases may be better addressed when addiction-informed concepts and tools are integrated. It offers a physiologically grounded lens for combining eating disorder and addiction frameworks in a more coherent clinical approach.
The Download: coding’s future, the ‘Steroid Olympics,’ and AI-driven science
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology.
Anthropic’s Code with Claude showed off coding’s future—whether you like it or not
At Anthropic’s developer event in London this week, Code with Claude, attendees were asked if they’d shipped code written entirely by Claude. Almost half the room raised their hands. Many admitted they hadn’t even read the code before pushing it live.
As tools like Claude Code get better, more and more developers are happy to hand their work off to AI. Anthropic says it wants to push automation as far as it will go. But not everyone is convinced that’s the right approach.
Read the full story on how AI is reshaping coding for good.
—Will Douglas Heaven
The Enhanced Games fit right in with the rest of 2026’s longevity vibes
This Sunday, 42 athletes will gather in Las Vegas for the inaugural Enhanced Games, a controversial sporting competition that allows the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The goal? To “push the boundaries of human performance.”
The event embodies a zeitgeist of peptide-crazed looksmaxxing, where consumers are encouraged to get thinner than ever, optimize for longevity, and have their “best baby.” In 2026, if you’re not enhancing, what are you even doing?
Find out how the competition reflects our enhancement-obsessed era.
—Jessica Hamzelou
This story is from The Checkup, our weekly newsletter giving you the inside track on all things biotech. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Thursday.
Google I/O showed how the path for AI-driven science is shifting
—Grace Huckins
During Tuesday’s Google I/O keynote, Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google DeepMind, proclaimed that we are “standing in the foothills of the singularity.” But what struck me as I listened in the audience was the context in which he said those words.
The contrast reflects two directions for AI in science. One builds specialized systems like WeatherNext for specific problems. The other pushes toward agentic, LLM-based systems that could eventually execute cutting-edge research projects without human involvement.
The big scientific announcement at I/O was Gemini for Science, which leans further into this agent-driven future. It can still call on specialized systems, but Google appears to be transitioning away from them.
Here’s how the shift could affect science.
Can AI learn to understand the world?
Many leading AI researchers have turned their attention to a new kind of system that understands the physical environment: world models.
Backed by researchers at Google DeepMind, Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs, and Meta’s former Chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun, the idea is gaining serious momentum. Could it change how AI understands reality?
MIT Technology Review editor in chief Mat Honan, senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven, and AI reporter Grace Huckins unpacked it all in an exclusive Roundtables discussion yesterday.
Subscribers can watch the full recording now.
World models are also one of MIT Technology Review’s 10 Things That Matter in AI Right Now, our list of what’s really worth your attention in the busy, buzzy world of AI.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Trump has postponed an AI order due to overregulation fears
He said he was concerned it would be “a blocker.” (CNBC)
+ And that he wants to preserve the US’s lead over China in AI. (Reuters $)
+ A source said the delay was because he “just hates regulation.” (Axios)
+ A war over regulation is coming to America. (MIT Technology Review)
2 OpenClaw’s engineers warn that a “vibe-coded slop” crisis is coming
They say AI is flooding the world with bad and even dangerous code. (WSJ $)
+ Now vibe coding is coming to your phone, too. (The Verge)
+ What exactly is vibe coding? (MIT Technology Review)
3 SpaceX has called off the launch of a new Starship prototype
Engineers discovered a ground system glitch. (CNBC)
+ They hope to try again tonight. (Ars Technica)
+ The launch could play a key role in SpaceX’s IPO. (NPR)
4 Meta has settled a school district’s social media addiction lawsuit
It had been sued over the alleged harm caused to students. (BBC)
+ Snap, TikTok, and YouTube have also settled with the district. (NYT $)
5 Bluesky says it’s being hacked by the Kremlin to spread propaganda
It’s fighting Russian efforts to hijack real users’ accounts to post. (NYT $)
+ Now is a good time for doing crime. (MIT Technology Review)
6 Africa’s biggest economies are pushing for AI sovereignty
They aim to reduce their dependence on Big Tech. (Rest of World)
+ New strategies could make Africa a major AI player. (MIT Technology Review)
7 Undersea cables threaten the Gulf’s AI expansion plans
Conflicts have put the fragile critical infrastructure at risk. (Wired $)
8 Waymo is pausing services as robotaxis keep driving into floods
It suspended services in four US cities. (TechCrunch)
9 Microscopic silica spheres may help cool the planet
But some researchers need further convincing. (The Economist $)
10 Spotify will now let subscribers create AI remixes
It’s the first time they can use AI to create content on Spotify. (Guardian)
Quote of the day
“You have AI — actual intelligence.”
—Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak reassures college graduates about AI’s impact and draws applause, in contrast to the boos received by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt earlier this week, Business Insider reports.
One More Thing
GETTY IMAGES
The future is disabled
Technologies for disability, access, and mobility are often portrayed as objects of empowerment or heroic, life-changing panaceas for social ills. But their benefits are often temporary, lopsided, or reliant on constant investment, care, and attention.
Often, accessibility tech assumes levels of access that don’t exist: reliable internet, smartphones, or affordable devices. Projects frequently overlook the very communities they claim to serve. Yet there’s another way: opening ourselves up to all-access thinking and disabled expertise.
Discover how that approach could create a more livable world for everyone.
—Ashley Shew
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun, and distraction to brighten up your day. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line.)
+ Treat your eyes to this magical footage of a lake floating above an ocean.
+ Test your visual recall with this clever game that recreates colors from memory.
+ Take back control of your internet with this dashboard that brings together your favourite social feeds.
+ Peer into the heart of a barred spiral galaxy in this stunning new capture from the James Webb Space Telescope.
<![CDATA[Unpack gaming, gambling, social media, and exercise addiction, spotlighting comorbid anxiety, withdrawal signs, and harm-reduction treatment.]]>
Development, Feasibility, Acceptability, and Usability of an Artificial Intelligence–Powered Chatbot (Suzy) to Support Patients in Substance Use Disorder Recovery: Multiphase Study
<strong>Background:</strong> Substance use disorder (SUD) remains a major public health crisis in the United States, with significant challenges in treatment access, retention, and workforce capacity. SUD care teams, including addiction medicine physicians and peer recovery coaches (PRCs), support patients receiving SUD treatment but face heavy workloads and burnout. Artificial intelligence (AI) innovations, particularly large language model (LLM)–based chatbots, may extend PRC support and provide patients with on-demand recovery support between clinic visits and PRC contacts. However, evidence on their development, feasibility, acceptability, and usability in addiction services remains limited. <strong>Objective:</strong> This study describes the development, feasibility, acceptability, and usability of an AI-powered health coaching chatbot (Suzy) designed to support patients in SUD recovery. <strong>Methods:</strong> A total of 2 clinicians, 5 researchers, and 2 technology developers led a small, multiphase pilot study. In the formative phase, they conducted focus groups and qualitative in-depth interviews with 12 health care professionals and 8 patients with substance use histories to specify chatbot functions and develop a rule-based chatbot. In phase 2, they conducted usability testing of the rule-based chatbot with 8 patients who reported substance use and completed standardized tasks, surveys, and qualitative interviews. Measures included the System Usability Scale (SUS), Net Promoter Score (NPS), and Single Ease of Use Question (SEQ). In phase 3, they developed an LLM-based chatbot co-designed and fine-tuned with PRCs and other SUD experts. <strong>Results:</strong> Rule-based chatbot functions included craving management, appointment reminders, resource referrals, care team contacts, and goal setting. Usability task testing supported feasibility. In this small pilot sample, quantitative and qualitative feedback indicated acceptability and usability, with an average SUS score of 93 (benchmark 68), an NPS of 63 (benchmark 35), and a mean SEQ score of 6.5/7. Patients valued Suzy’s approachable, nonjudgmental language and features that promoted accountability, self-monitoring, and 24/7 availability, while emphasizing that chatbots should supplement but not replace human support. The LLM-based chatbot development emphasized information accuracy, safety escalation protocols to mitigate risks of inappropriate chatbot responses, human-in-the-loop features, and expanded conversational flexibility and personal tailoring. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> In this pilot study, a rule-based chatbot designed to support SUD care demonstrated feasibility, usability, and acceptability. LLM-based chatbot development required more robust safety and emergency reporting features, while offering more patient-responsive conversational functions. By providing on-demand coaching, referrals, and reminders, Suzy may extend the reach of care teams, alleviate provider burden, and enhance patient engagement. Additional work is needed to understand how to best integrate Suzy into patients’ recovery journeys to ensure human support remains accessible and prioritized. LLM evaluation was based on expert testing and safety review. Clinical effectiveness, including the impact on substance use, was not evaluated. Next steps include evaluating the LLM chatbot in real-world settings with larger samples and assessing its efficacy in reducing substance use.
The Impact of Trauma-Informed Sports-Based Intervention on Emotion Regulation, Self-Esteem, and Peer Relationships in Adolescents With Substance Use Disorder
Conditions: Adolescents With Substance Use Disorder
Interventions: Behavioral: The Trauma-Informed Sport-Based Intervention Program
Sponsors: Neslihan Lok
Completed
Interventions: Behavioral: The Trauma-Informed Sport-Based Intervention Program
Sponsors: Neslihan Lok
Completed
Neurocognitive function among individuals with problematic social media use
BackgroundWith the development of technology and the internet, social networks gained momentum quickly and play a central role in daily activities. Despite this, there is a public health concern over excessive or problematic social media use. There is also a debate whether excessive social media use should be considered as a behavioral addiction characterized by impulsivity or an impulse control disorder characterized by compulsivity. The goal of this study is to use neurocognitive tasks to investigate impulsivity and compulsivity among excessive social media users compared with non-excessive users.MethodThe study included 79 participants (age range 18 to 37), divided into two groups: 34 participants who excessively use social media (Mean Age = 23.03, SD = 2.71) and 45 participants who do not excessively use social media (Mean Age = 25.47, SD = 4.3). Participants filled out a demographic questionnaire, questionnaires on social media use, impulsivity, compulsivity, anxiety, and depression. They performed computerized cognitive tasks: GO/NO-GO (with Facebook and traffic sign pictures), Experimental Delay Discounting (EDT), and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST).ResultsExcessive users of social media exhibited a lower ability to delay gratification on the EDT, indicating impulsivity. They made fewer non-perseverative errors on the WCST, which indicated high flexibility and test shifting, which is a contradicting evidence for compulsivity. Furthermore, on the GO/NO-GO task, individuals who excessively use social media made more omission errors in response to the “Facebook” sign compared to traffic signs (GO condition), indicating impaired selective attention. Finally, they also showed higher subjective ratings of anxiety, depression, impulsivity, and compulsivity.DiscussionThe results of this study provide evidence for impulsivity indicated by delay discounting tendency, which supports the behavioral addiction model, impaired selection attention and lack of evidence for compulsivity in excessive social media users. Further research on neurocognitive function in excessive social media users is required in order to determine whether it should be considered a behavioral addiction or an impulse control disorder.