Oxytocin moderates fMRI connectivity and response to implicit threat processing in cocaine use disorder
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View abstract on PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.Oxytocin (OXT) may help regulate brain responses to social threat cues in individuals with cocaine use disorder (CUD). This study found OXT normalized amygdala-prefrontal cortex connectivity, potentially aiding emotion regulation in CUD.
Area Of Science
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Pharmacology
Background
- Stressful social experiences increase vulnerability to substance use disorders, including cocaine use disorder (CUD).
- Oxytocin (OXT), known for its social and anxiolytic effects, is a potential therapeutic for CUD.
- Limited research exists on OXT's effects on social stress processing and neural responses to threat cues in CUD.
Purpose Of The Study
- To investigate the effects of intranasal oxytocin (OXT) on neural responses to subconscious social threat cues in individuals with and without CUD.
- To examine OXT's influence on brain activation and amygdala functional connectivity in response to facial threat stimuli.
Main Methods
- Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study administering intranasal OXT (24 IU) or placebo (PBO).
- Participants included individuals with CUD (CUD+, N=76) and without CUD (CUD-, N=61).
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) assessed brain activation and amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex connectivity during a facial threat cue task.
Main Results
- OXT reduced activation in the thalamus, pontine reticular formation, and supplementary motor area in response to threat cues, irrespective of CUD status.
- Under placebo, individuals with CUD showed negative amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex connectivity to fear cues.
- OXT administration reversed this coupling to positive in the CUD+ group, mirroring the CUD- group's response.
Conclusions
- Oxytocin modulates neural responses to social threat cues, specifically altering amygdala-prefrontal cortex connectivity in individuals with CUD.
- These findings suggest OXT may influence threat surveillance and implicit emotion regulation circuitry relevant to CUD.
- Further research is needed to determine the clinical significance of these OXT-induced neural alterations for CUD treatment.
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