Essentials: Understanding & Treating Addiction | Dr. Anna Lembke

Andrew Huberman June 26, 2025
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Andrew Huberman

@hubermanlab

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The Huberman Lab podcast is hosted by Andrew Huberman, Ph.D., a neuroscientist and tenured professor in the department of neurobiology of ophthalmology, and by courtesy, psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. The podcast discusses neuroscience and science-based tools, including how our brain and its connections with the organs of our body control our perceptions, our behaviors, and our health, as well as existing and emerging tools for measuring and changing how our nervous system works.

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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. Episode show notes: https://go.hubermanlab.com/xbtub2m Huberman Lab Essentials are short episodes focused on essential science and protocol takeaways from past full-length Huberman Lab episodes. Watch the full-length episode: https://youtu.be/p3JLaF_4Tz8 Watch more Huberman Lab Essentials episodes: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPNW_gerXa4OGNy1yE-W9IX-tPu-tJa7S *Follow Huberman Lab* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Threads: https://www.threads.net/@hubermanlab X: https://twitter.com/hubermanlab Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@hubermanlab LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-huberman Website: https://www.hubermanlab.com Newsletter: https://www.hubermanlab.com/newsletter *Dr. Anna Lembke* Website: https://www.annalembke.com *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 Pleasure-Pain Balance, Dopamine, Addiction 00:12:39 Resetting Dopamine, Substance or Behavior Recovery, Tool: 30-Day Abstinence 00:14:26 Relapse, Addiction, Reflexive Behavior, Empathy 00:18:39 Triggers, Relapse, Dopamine 00:21:37 Shame, Truth Telling & Recovery 00:23:58 Addiction, Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy, Psilocybin, MDMA 00:29:01 Social Media & Addiction, Tool: Intentionality Disclaimer & Disclosures: https://www.hubermanlab.com/disclaimer

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