Behavior change, health, and health disparities 2026: Contributions of behavioral pharmacology and behavioral economics to addiction science.

Abstract

This Special Issue (SI) is the 13th in an annual series on behavior change, health, and health disparities comprised of invited contributions from speakers at the 2025 Vermont Center on Behavior and Health annual national conference. This year's theme is Contributions of Behavioral Pharmacology and Behavioral Economics to Addiction Science. In addition to this brief introduction, the special issue includes 13 peer-reviewed articles ranging from historical overviews and systematic literature reviews to reports of results from original preclinical and clinical studies. The contributions of behavioral pharmacology and behavioral economics to addiction science are extensive. As such, only selected exemplars are included in this SI. The articles included have considerable breadth, scientific rigor, and clinical importance addressing advances in treatments for opioid, stimulant, and tobacco use disorders, as well as concepts and methods for investigating and characterizing the addiction potential of different drugs, formulations, and an ever-expanding number of commercial products that include psychoactive substances. Collectively, these articles illustrate a history of diverse and impactful contributions from behavioral pharmacology and behavioral economics research to addiction science over more than half a century and a trajectory that holds promise for even more contributions going forward.