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Published on: November 6, 2018
Changes in regional cerebral blood flow elicited by craving memories in abstinent opiate-dependent subjects
M R Daglish1, A Weinstein, A L Malizia
1Psychopharmacology Unit, School of Medical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
Objective:
The brain circuitry of opiate craving was investigated with positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF).
Method:
Twelve abstinent opiate-dependent subjects listened to audiotaped autobiographical scripts of an episode of craving and a neutral episode while undergoing a PET scan with the tracer [(15)O]H(2)O. Statistical parametric mapping was used to analyze the PET images of rCBF changes.
Results:
Comparison of the drug-related and neutral stimulus conditions revealed activation of rCBF in the left medial prefrontal and left anterior cingulate cortices and deactivation in the occipital cortex in response to the drug-related stimulus. A further statistical parametric mapping analysis with a subjective rating of craving as a covariate showed a positive association of between craving and rCBF in the left orbitofrontal cortex.
Conclusions:
The patterns of cerebral activation reflect the different brain regions mediating the salience of opiate-related stimuli and the subjective experience of craving for opiates.
