05/29/2026
"After seeing a 2013 study in Sweden showing that rodents given a GLP-1-like medication consumed less alcohol, Leggio — the clinical director and deputy scientific director at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Drug Abuse — replicated the findings and has been investigating ever since.
Leggio and his team have built a mock bar where participants are exposed to alcohol-related cues — smells, sights and other triggers associated with craving — while their physiological and behavioral responses are measured in real time. Participants also move through virtual-reality environments, including a cafeteria simulation in which they are asked to choose foods, allowing scientists to study how desire and decision-making may shift under the drugs’ influence.
Researchers have long known that addiction is associated with hyperactivity in brain circuits connected to reward, craving and reinforcement. Scientists suspect GLP-1 drugs may dampen the brain’s dopamine-driven reward systems that determine what feels pleasurable and worth repeating — which could lessen these urges. They are also investigating whether the drugs affect the amygdala, which helps regulate fear, stress and emotional processing.
Eli Lilly, which manufactures tirzepatide under the brand names Mounjaro and Zepbound, has launched a large clinical trial expected to conclude by the end of this year or early next year examining whether the drug could help treat alcohol-use disorder.
Several major studies examining GLP-1 drugs on ni****ne dependence, opioid- and cocaine-use disorders, gambling addiction and binge eating are also underway.
“It’s very exciting times, but we don’t fully understand how it works,” Leggio said."
The research has implications for addictive behaviors and diseases of aging such as Alzheimer’s.
