Neuroscience-informed psychoeducation for substance use prevention: From neurodevelopmental risk to resilient decision-making
Year: 2026
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: Substance use disorders (SUD) are chronic, relapsing brain conditions with substantial health-related and economic consequences, constituting a major public health challenge worldwide. There is an urgent need to strengthen prevention efforts and improve access to effective treatment to mitigate the long-term health, social, and economic adversities associated with SUD. This chapter highlights the utility of Neuroscience-Informed PsychoEducation (NIPE) interventions for substance use prevention in adolescents and young adults. Prevention interventions are most effective when implemented early, as they can delay or prevent the onset of substance use and reduce the risk of subsequent substance-related problems. Adolescence is a critical developmental period for brain maturation, providing a strategic window for prevention and early interventions, which may harness the heightened neuroplasticity and “social plasticity” of this neurodevelopmental period. The chapter reviews the neuroscience of addiction in adolescence along with key limitations of early prevention approaches. The emergence of neuroscience-informed perspectives in prevention science and the role of neuroscience-informed psychoeducation as a mechanism of preventive change are discussed and neuroscience-informed frameworks for SUDs prevention based on research domain criteria (RDoC) are presented. Finally, the evidence-base and effectiveness of existing neuroscience-informed psychoeducational pro-grams for substance use prevention are reviewed. Together, these emerging approaches open important new possibilities and directions for future developments in neuroscience-informed prevention science.
Source: Progress in brain research
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204845027