Katrin H. Preller , Michael Wagner , Christian Sulzbach , Klaus Hoenig , Julia Neubauer , Petra E. Franke , Nadine Petrovsky , Ingo Frommann , Anne K. Rehme , Boris B. Quednow
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引用次数: 22
Abstract
Models of addiction and addiction memory propose that drug-associated cues elicit incentive effects in drug users, which play an important role in maintenance of drug use and relapse. Incentive effects have been demonstrated for smoking and alcohol-related cues but evidence for heroin-related cues has been inconclusive. Furthermore, it is unknown whether appetitive effects of heroin-related cues persist after prolonged abstinence, although heroin addiction is known to have high relapse rates. Therefore, we investigated implicit and explicit valence of heroin-related cues in dependent users at different stages of abstinence using affective startle modulation. In Study I, 15 current heroin users were measured before and after detoxification. Correspondingly, 15 healthy control participants were tested twice at an interval of 14 days. In Study II, 14 long-term abstinent heroin users were additionally measured in a single session. Implicit processing of drug-related stimuli was assessed using affective startle modulation by pictures of heroin and smoking scenes. Explicit reactions were measured using ratings of valence and craving. In contrast to controls, heroin-dependent participants showed a clear reduction of startle response during heroin-related pictures (p<0.05). Detoxification did not significantly change their startle responses to heroin-cues. No difference between non-detoxified current and long-term abstinent heroin users was found in implicit reactions to heroin-cues, whereas explicit measures differed between both groups (all p<0.05). After detoxification and even after prolonged abstinence, heroin cues still exert implicit appetitive effects in heroin users. This implies that drug-induced adaptations of reward circuits are long-lasting, resulting in a highly stable addiction memory.
期刊介绍:
European Neuropsychopharmacology is the official publication of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP). In accordance with the mission of the College, the journal focuses on clinical and basic science contributions that advance our understanding of brain function and human behaviour and enable translation into improved treatments and enhanced public health impact in psychiatry. Recent years have been characterized by exciting advances in basic knowledge and available experimental techniques in neuroscience and genomics. However, clinical translation of these findings has not been as rapid. The journal aims to narrow this gap by promoting findings that are expected to have a major impact on both our understanding of the biological bases of mental disorders and the development and improvement of treatments, ideally paving the way for prevention and recovery.