Young Researchers Take the Spotlight at Poster Press Briefing

The plenaries and scientific sessions are a major draw of the APA Annual Meeting, but don’t forget all the research posters. At a press conference yesterday, young researchers showcased findings on the human-versus-AI debate, a role for GLP-1 medications in smoking cessation, and how pop music reflects national trends in mental health. All the posters below will be presented tomorrow—so if you want to know more, check them out in the Exhibit Hall.

Songs of Influence: Exploring Substance Use Trends in Music and Implications for Mental and Physical Health (Monday 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. PT)

“I buy you Champagne, but you love some Henny.” — Drake, In My Feelings

In restaurants, shops, and at even medical conferences, people are hearing music that discusses substance use. But how prevalent is it? Benita Lalani and Alec Manning, fourth-year medical students at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, discussed their effort to analyze lyrics from the top 50 pop songs each year between 2013 and 2024. Not surprisingly, mentions of alcohol dominated almost every year, although total references ebbed after 2015 before spiking dramatically in 2024. References to marijuana, cocaine, and other stimulants experienced their own spike in 2018, which coincided with national survey data showing a rise in use of these substances.

Lalani said this proximity suggests that music may help shape societal attitudes in addition to responding to them. She added that, while substance use was frequently referenced in relation to partying in the early years, lyrics began referencing themes of loneliness and heartache starting around the outbreak of COVID-19.

Evaluating the Efficacy of AI-Driven vs. Human-Delivered Text-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Comparative Pilot Study (Monday, 8 – 9:30 a.m. PT)

Good news for humanity: Flesh-and-blood therapists soundly outperform ChatGPT when it comes to providing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). While several studies have shown that AI-guided chatbots can provide good mental health support, they may be best suited to mild symptoms that don’t require structured psychotherapy.

Esha Aneja, a third-year medical student at California Northstate University College of Medicine, discussed work she and colleagues did to put the popular AI platform ChatGPT3.5 to the test. They had 75 mental health professionals and trainees review two transcripts of a simulated CBT session—one conducted by a human therapist and one by ChatGPT trained in CBT principles. The reviewers provided a quantitative assessment using the Cognitive Therapy Rating Scale and put the human above AI for every single category. Differences were particularly strong for domains such as providing feedback, guiding patients toward discovery, and pacing the session.

In qualitative interviews, participants generally agreed that the ChatGPT therapist sounded professional, understood the patient’s problem, and tried to be empathetic—but it lacked a certain nuance that made its empathy appear superficial.

The Impact of GLP-1 Agonists on Smoking Cessation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Monday, 8 – 9:30 a.m. PT)

GLP-1 receptor agonists like Ozempic have been helping countless people shed pounds, but they may also help people trying to quit smoking not add pounds in the first place, said Débora Xavier, M.D., a postgraduate scholar at the Universidade Federal do Pará in Brazil.

Xavier and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of data from 410 patients participating in randomized controlled trials comparing the effects of adjunctive GLP-1 therapy with placebo as part of smoking-cessation treatment (counseling and cessation pharmacotherapy). They found that after about 12 weeks, individuals taking GLP-1s gained about 2.9 kg (5.7 lbs) less weight on average than those on placebo. Many patients taking GLP-1s even lost weight while trying to quit.

There was no difference in abstinence rates between the two groups, though Xavier noted that the available data only went to 12 weeks of treatment. Still, she said the available evidence suggests GLP-1s should only be considered an adjunct approach for people wishing to quit smoking.