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: 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: Watch more Huberman Lab Essentials episodes: *Follow Huberman Lab* Instagram: Threads: @hubermanlab X: Facebook: TikTok: @hubermanlab LinkedIn: Website: Newsletter: *Dr. Anna Lembke* Website: *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: