The Huberman Lab Podcast discusses neuroscience: how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health. We also discuss existing and emerging tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works. Dr. Andrew Huberman is a tenured Professor of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. His laboratory studies neural regeneration, neuroplasticity, and brain states such as stress, focus, fear, and optimal performance. For more than 20 years, Dr. Huberman has consistently published original research findings and review articles in top-level peer-reviewed journals, including Nature, Science, Cell, Neuron, and Current Biology. He is a regular member of several National Institutes of Health review panels and a Fellow of the McKnight Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts. Dr. Huberman regularly consults for technology development companies, professional athletic organizations, and various units of U.S. and Canadian Special Operations.

Essentials: Understanding & Treating Addiction | Dr. Anna Lembke

June 26, 2025 0:36:32 6.84 MB ( -6.85 MB less) Downloads: 0

In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, my guest is Dr. Anna Lembke, MD, Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine.

We discuss how dopamine drives reward, motivation and addictive behaviors. Dr. Lembke explains the concept of the pleasure-pain balance of dopamine and how this cycle plays a key role in the development and persistence of addiction. We also discuss some of the challenges of addiction recovery, including withdrawal, relapses and the potential benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapy.

Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com.

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Timestamps

00:00:00 Anna Lembke

00:00:15 Dopamine, Reward & Movement

00:01:54 Baseline Dopamine; Genetics, Temperament & Addiction

00:05:24 Addiction, Modern Life & Boredom

00:07:18 Sponsor: AG1

00:08:55 Pleasure-Pain Balance, Dopamine, Addiction

00:14:17 Resetting Dopamine, Substance or Behavior Recovery, Tool: 30-Day Abstinence

00:16:04 Relapse, Addiction, Reflexive Behavior, Empathy

00:20:17 Triggers, Relapse, Dopamine

00:23:15 Sponsor: Wealthfront & BetterHelp

00:26:04 Shame, Truth Telling & Recovery

00:28:26 Addiction, Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy, Psilocybin, MDMA

00:33:29 Social Media & Addiction, Tool: Intentionality

Disclaimer & Disclosures

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