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A Protocol for Measuring Cue Reactivity in a Rat Model of Cocaine Use Disorder
Published on: June 18, 2018
Increased error-related thalamic activity during early compared to late cocaine abstinence
Chiang-Shan R Li1, Xi Luo, Rajita Sinha
1Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06519 USA. chiang-shan.li@yale.edu
Drug and Alcohol Dependence
|February 19, 2010
Summary
Cocaine dependent patients experience more craving and loss of control early in abstinence. During this period, heightened thalamic and insular responses to errors correlate with craving, suggesting altered brain reactivity contributes to addiction.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Addiction Research
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Altered cognitive control, particularly error monitoring, is central to cocaine dependence.
- Previous research linked dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), thalamus, and insula activity to errors and drug craving.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between brain activity during error monitoring, craving, and loss of control in cocaine-dependent patients during early and late abstinence.
- To test hypotheses regarding whether craving impairs error monitoring or if heightened error responses precipitate craving.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the stop-signal task (SST) to assess error monitoring in cocaine-dependent patients (PCD).
- Compared brain activity (specifically dACC, thalamus, insula) between stop-error (SE) and stop-success (SS) trials.
- Assessed subjective feelings of loss of control and cocaine craving at different abstinence stages (early, day 6 vs. late, day 18).
Main Results:
- PCD reported greater loss of control and cocaine craving during early abstinence compared to late abstinence.
- PCD scanned during early abstinence exhibited increased thalamic and insular, but not dACC, responses to errors (SE>SS) relative to those in late abstinence.
- Findings suggest heightened thalamic reactivity to salient stimuli is associated with cocaine craving.
Conclusions:
- Heightened thalamic reactivity to salient stimuli, observed during early abstinence, co-occurs with cocaine craving and loss of self-control in dependent individuals.
- These findings support the hypothesis that abnormal responses in specific brain regions contribute to the cycle of addiction and relapse.
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