A role for dopamine in the processing of drug cues in heroin dependent patients

Drug and alcohol dependence are associated with enhanced attention for drug-related stimuli. This cognitive processing bias has been suggested to be related to craving and to represent one of the core mechanisms of addition. The present study tests the hypothesis that enhanced attention for heroin cues is mediated by the dopaminergic system using haloperidol as dopamine antagonist. In a double blind, randomized crossover design, 17 detoxified heroin dependent patients received a single oral dose of haloperidol 2 mg and placebo. Patients performed an Emotional Stroop Task to assess the cognitive processing of drug cues under both conditions. In addition, self-reported craving was assessed. In the haloperidol condition, patients performed better on the Emotional Stroop Task than in the placebo condition. However, no effect of haloperidol on subjective craving was found. These findings provide preliminary indications that attentional bias in heroin dependent humans is mediated by dopaminergic mechanisms.     

Feed-forward mechanisms: addiction-like behavioral and molecular adaptations in overeating

Food reward, not hunger, is the main driving force behind eating in the modern obesogenic environment. Palatable foods, generally calorie-dense and rich in sugar/fat, are thus readily overconsumed despite the resulting health consequences. Important advances have been made to explain mechanisms underlying excessive consumption as an immediate response to presentation of rewarding tastants. However, our understanding of long-term neural adaptations to food reward that oftentimes persist during even a prolonged absence of palatable food and contribute to the reinstatement of compulsive overeating of high-fat high-sugar diets, is much more limited. Here we discuss the evidence from animal and human studies for neural and molecular adaptations in both homeostatic and non-homeostatic appetite regulation that may underlie the formation of a “feed-forward” system, sensitive to palatable food and propelling the individual from a basic preference for palatable diets to food craving and compulsive, addiction-like eating behavior.     

丁丙诺啡、东莨菪碱与异丙嗪联合使用对大鼠位置偏爱的影响

目的 通过观察丁丙诺啡、东莨菪碱与异丙嗪三药联合使用(俗称"1+1")对大鼠位置偏爱的影响,探索"1+1"对实验大鼠的精神依赖性潜力.方法 161只雄性SD大鼠随机分成9组,分别采用丁丙诺啡、丁丙诺啡+东莨菪碱、丁丙诺啡+异丙嗪、丁丙诺啡+东莨菪碱+异丙嗪、东莨菪碱、异丙嗪、东莨菪碱+异丙嗪、吗啡、以及生理盐水等进行腹腔内注射,同时进行药物匹配CPP训练,共10d,比较各组大鼠训练前后以及训练后各组大鼠之间在药物训练侧(简称伴药侧)停留时间的差异,探索各处理因素的精神依赖性潜力及其差异.结果 注射吗啡、丁丙诺啡、丁丙诺啡+东莨菪碱、丁丙诺啡+异丙嗪、丁丙诺啡+东莨菪碱+异丙嗪等5组大鼠均形成了明显的CPP;组间比较发现丁丙诺啡+东莨菪碱+异丙嗪组大鼠训练前后在非自然偏爱侧停留时间增加(378.6±120.8)s,明显高于丁丙诺啡组(302.2±133.9)s,差异有显著性(F=62.9,P=0.03),但与吗啡组(419.8±146.4)s比较,差异无显著性(F=14.3,P=0.63).结论 丁丙诺啡、东莨菪碱与异丙嗪之间可能存在协同作用而增加了丁丙诺啡的滥用潜力.     

内隐致敏法对线索诱发酒依赖患者心理渴求的影响

目的：了解线索诱发酒依赖患者心理渴求情况,探讨内隐致敏法对酒依赖患者心理渴求的干预效果。方法：将90名康复期酒依赖患者随机分为观察组（n=45）和对照组（n=45）,采用视觉模拟评分法根据被试者的自我报告初次评价心理渴求程度,采用内隐致敏法对观察组进行干预,每周干预四次,对照组未采用内隐致敏法,其余干预措施与观察组相同。3周后,对照组、观察组观看饮酒相关视频,同时给予酒瓶、酒杯、酒味刺激,线索诱发后1分钟内再次评价心理渴求程度。结果：线索明显诱发酒依赖患者心理渴求（P〈0．01）,内隐致敏法能降低酒依赖患者心理渴求程度（P〈0．01）。结论：康复期酒依赖患者在线索诱发下产生明显的心理渴求;内隐致敏法能降低酒依赖患者心理渴求程度。     

Effects of acute exercise on drug craving in adults with poly-substance use disorder. A randomized controlled trial

ObjectivesTo examine the short-term effects of exercise on drug craving in poly-drug-dependent inpatients, duration of effects, differences between exercise types, explore the relationship between craving and mood, and possible moderators.DesignMulticenter randomized control trial (RCT) with a crossover design.Methods38 (25 completed) inpatients (37.3 ± 6.4 years; 84 % male) from three treatment centers participated in soccer, circuit training and control condition in random order for 45-min. Craving was assessed with a self-rated visual analog scale (VAS), mood with Feeling scale (FS), immediately before and after each condition and 1, 2, and 4 h post interventions. Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and heart rate were assessed. Intervention effects were assessed using linear mixed effects model, including moderator analyses.ResultsExercise sessions were perceived as “somewhat hard” to “hard”. Compared to control, there was an immediate reduction in craving after soccer and circuit training (β = −1.35, 95 %CI: 1.96, −0.75, p = 0.000; β = -1.44, 95 %CI: 2.06, −0.83, p = 0.000) that persisted for 4 h (β = −1.11, 95 %CI: 1.72, −0.49, p = 0.000; β = -0.85, 95 %CI: 1.49, −0.22, p = 0.008). Elevations in mood after soccer (β = 1.08, 95 %CI: 0.41, 1.76, p = 0.002) and circuit training (β = 0.99, 95 %CI: 0.32, 1.67, p = 0.004) were significantly larger than control. Depressive disorder and primary drug of use might moderate the effect.ConclusionReduced drug cravings and elevated mood following soccer and circuit training were observed in people with poly-SUDs. Single exercise sessions can be an effective strategy to alleviate craving and potentially prevent relapse and treatment drop-out.     

Effect of brief imagery interventions on craving in college student smokers

This study examined the comparative impact of three types of imagery interventions (olfactory, visual, and olfactory-plus-visual imagery) and a distracting cognitive task (serial sevens) on self-reported craving for cigarettes by 54 university students who had been smoking at least a pack of cigarettes per day for the past 3 to 6 months. Using the 10-item, self-report questionnaire of smoking urges, we assessed participants’ experience of craving prior to cue exposure, following 2?min of lab-based cue-exposure, during a 2?min imagery or distraction intervention, and immediately following the intervention. Reported craving during intervention was significantly lower in all three imagery conditions compared to the distracting cognitive task condition, but there was not a significant difference in craving among the imagery conditions. Despite explicit instructions to focus on the designated form(s) of imagery, a majority of participants in each of the imagery conditions also reported experiencing other forms of sensory imagery. Brief imagery interventions hold promise to interrupt, at least temporarily, cue-induced craving in daily smokers.