ReviewPharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior2012
Glutamatergic medications for the treatment of drug and behavioral addictions.
Review in Pharmacology, biochemistry, and behavior, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03018236 (The Effect of N-acetylcysteine), which is not on this map. Cited by 84 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on Treatment of Alcohol and Cocaine Use Disorders: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial.
Who cites it
84 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 210 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effect of N-acetylcysteine on craving in substance use disorders (SUD): a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- A Randomized Controlled Trial of N-acetylcysteine for Adolescent and Young Adult Alcohol Use Disorder.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2026Trial
- N-acetylcysteine does not alter neurometabolite levels in non-treatment seeking adolescents who use alcohol heavily: A preliminary randomized clinical trial.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2023Trial
- Treatment effects and adherence of sexually compulsive men in a randomized controlled trial of psychotherapy and medication.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2023Trial
- Alcohol use during a trial of N-acetylcysteine for adolescent marijuana cessation.Addictive behaviors · 2016Trial
- Achieving cannabis cessation -- evaluating N-acetylcysteine treatment (ACCENT): design and implementation of a multi-site, randomized controlled study in the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network.Contemporary clinical trials · 2014Trial
- Randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial of gabapentin during an outpatient, buprenorphine-assisted detoxification procedure.Experimental and clinical psychopharmacology · 2013Trial
- A double-blind randomized controlled trial of N-acetylcysteine in cannabis-dependent adolescents.The American journal of psychiatry · 2012Trial
- The Central Nervous System Modulatory Activities of N-Acetylcysteine: A Synthesis of Two Decades of Evidence.Current issues in molecular biology · 2025Review
- Cue-induced Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy of Glutamate in Addiction Research: Current Evidence, Pros, and Cons.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Review
- Association Between the (GT)26 Allele in the GRIN2A Promoter and Opioid Use Disorder.Psychiatry investigation · 2025Article
- Acute Alcohol-Induced Changes Measured With Metabotropic Glutamate Receptor 5 Positron Emission Tomography.Addiction biology · 2025Article
- Use of N-Acetylcysteine in the Management of Isoniazid-Induced Liver Injury in a Tuberculosis Patient: A Case Report.Cureus · 2024Article
- Review
- Neurotransmitters crosstalk and regulation in the reward circuit of subjects with behavioral addiction.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Review
- Glutathione in the nucleus accumbens regulates motivation to exert reward-incentivized effort.eLife · 2022Article
- Article
- Reply to Skokou, M. Comment on "Keeler et al. Ketamine as a Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa: A Narrative Review.Nutrients · 2022Review
- Impaired glutamate homeostasis in the nucleus accumbens in human cocaine addiction.Molecular psychiatry · 2021Article
- Risk Assessment for Heroin Use and Craving Score Using Polygenic Risk Score.Journal of personalized medicine · 2021Article
24 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Historically, most pharmacological approaches to the treatment of addictive disorders have utilized either substitution-based methods (i.e., nicotine replacement or opioid maintenance) or have targeted monoaminergic or endogenous opioidergic neurotransmitter systems. However, substantial evidence has accumulated indicating that ligands acting on glutamatergic transmission are also of potential utility in the treatment of drug addiction, as well as various behavioral addictions such as pathological gambling. The purpose of this review is to summarize the pharmacological mechanisms of action and general clinical efficacy of glutamatergic medications that are currently approved or are being investigated for approval for the treatment of addictive disorders. Medications with effects on glutamatergic transmission that will be discussed include acamprosate, N-acetylcysteine, d-cycloserine, gabapentin, lamotrigine, memantine, modafinil, and topiramate. We conclude that manipulation of glutamatergic neurotransmission is a relatively young but promising avenue for the development of improved therapeutic agents for the treatment of drug and behavioral addictions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.