A Phase 2, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Randomized Trial Assessing the Efficacy of ABT-436, a Novel V1b Receptor Antagonist, for Alcohol Dependence.

Alcohol use disorder has been linked to dysregulation of the brain stress systems, producing a negative emotional state leading to chronic relapsing behavior. Vasopressin receptors appear to have a regulatory role in stress, anxiety, and alcohol. This study evaluated the novel compound, ABT-436, a V1b receptor antagonist, in alcohol-dependent participants in a 12-week clinical trial.

Noninvasive brain stimulation to suppress craving in substance use disorders: Review of human evidence and methodological considerations for future work.

Substance use disorders (SUDs) can be viewed as a pathology of neuroadaptation. The pharmacological overstimulation of neural mechanisms of reward, motivated learning and memory leads to drug-seeking behavior. A critical characteristic of SUDs is the appearance of craving, the motivated desire and urge to use, which is a main focus of current pharmacological and behavioral therapies.

Relationships among adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and psychopathology during the treatment of comorbid anxiety and alcohol use disorders.

Both maladaptive and adaptive emotion regulation strategies have been linked with psychopathology. However, previous studies have largely examined them separately, and little research has examined the interplay of these strategies cross-sectionally or longitudinally in patients undergoing psychological treatment. This study examined the use and interplay of adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies in 81 patients receiving cognitive-behavioral interventions for comorbid alcohol use and anxiety disorders.

Payment expectations for research participation among subjects who tell the truth, subjects who conceal information, and subjects who fabricate information.

Multiple models guide researchers' payment practices but few studies have assessed subjects' expectations for payment. Payments in excess of subjects' expectations may result in undue inducement, while payments below these expectations may be associated with exploitation. Data on subjects' payment expectations will help inform practices to avoid undue inducement and exploitation.

Zonisamide, topiramate, and levetiracetam: efficacy and neuropsychological effects in alcohol use disorders.

The anticonvulsant topiramate not only decreases ethanol consumption in alcohol dependence (AD) but also may produce several adverse events including cognitive impairment. Zonisamide is a structurally related anticonvulsant that is a promising agent for the treatment of AD and may have greater tolerability than topiramate. This study evaluated the effects of zonisamide (400 mg/d) on alcohol consumption and its neurotoxic effects in subjects with AD.

Use of bright light therapy among psychiatrists in massachusetts: an e-mail survey.

Background: Evidence on the use of bright light therapy for conditions beyond seasonal affective disorder continues to accrue; however, data on the prevalent use of bright light therapy in the community or in hospitals remain limited, particularly in the United States.

Method: We conducted a 5-minute e-mail survey of practicing psychiatrists in Massachusetts using the membership roster through the Massachusetts Psychiatric Society to evaluate prevalent use of bright light therapy as well as to solicit attitudes toward the treatment. Three e-mails were sent out over a 2-week period, and responses were obtained from March 2-24, 2013.

Modulation of smoking and decision-making behaviors with transcranial direct current stimulation in tobacco smokers: a preliminary study.

Background: Most tobacco smokers who wish to quit fail to reach their goal. One important, insufficiently emphasized aspect of addiction relates to the decision-making system, often characterized by dysfunctional cognitive control and a powerful drive for reward. Recent proof-of-principle studies indicate that transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) can transiently modulate processes involved in decision-making, and reduce substance intake and craving for various addictions.

The Kv7 potassium channel activator retigabine decreases alcohol consumption in rats.

Background: Activation of Kv7 potassium channels may decrease the reactivity of mesolimbic dopaminergic neurons that are implicated in mediating the reinforcing effects of ethanol.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine whether the administration of the Kv7 potassium channel opener retigabine would decrease ethanol intake in Long Evans rats.

Methods: A limited access two-bottle choice model of alcohol (10% solution) consumption was used in this study.

Bright light therapy for depression: a review of its effects on chronobiology and the autonomic nervous system.

Bright light therapy (BLT) is considered among the first-line treatments for seasonal affective disorder (SAD), yet a growing body of literature supports its use in other neuropsychiatric conditions including non-seasonal depression. Despite evidence of its antidepressant efficacy, clinical use of BLT remains highly variable internationally. In this article, we explore the autonomic effects of BLT and suggest that such effects may play a role in its antidepressant and chronotherapeutic properties.

The effects of venlafaxine and cognitive behavioral therapy alone and combined in the treatment of co-morbid alcohol use-anxiety disorders.

The effects of the antidepressant venlafaxine (VEN-225 mg daily) and transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) alone and in combination on alcohol intake in subjects with co-morbid alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and anxiety disorders were compared. Drinking outcomes and anxiety were assessed for 81 subjects treated for 11 weeks with one of 4 conditions: 1) VEN-CBT, 2) VEN-Progressive Muscle Relaxation therapy (PMR), 3) Placebo (PLC)-CBT and 4) a comparison group of PLC-PMR. For subjects who reported taking at least one dose of study medication, the Time×Group interaction was significant for percent days of heavy drinking and drinks consumed per day.

Concealment and fabrication by experienced research subjects.

Background: Subjects who enroll in multiple studies have been found to use deception at times to overcome restrictive screening criteria. Deception undermines subject safety as well as study integrity. Little is known about the extent to which experienced research subjects use deception and what type of information is concealed, withheld, or distorted.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial assessing the efficacy of varenicline tartrate for alcohol dependence.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy and safety of varenicline (Chantix) for the treatment of alcohol dependence. Varenicline is a partial α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine agonist approved by the Food and Drug Administration for smoking cessation. It has reduced drinking in animal studies and in small studies of humans who were both heavy drinkers and smokers.

A multisite, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of vigabatrin for treating cocaine dependence.

Importance: Cocaine dependence is a significant public health problem, yet no validated pharmacological treatment exists. The potent γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic medication vigabatrin has previously been shown to be effective in a double-blind single-site study conducted in Mexico.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of vigabatrin for the treatment of cocaine dependence in a U.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial assessing the efficacy of levetiracetam extended-release in very heavy drinking alcohol-dependent patients.

Background: Despite advances in the development of medications to treat alcohol dependence, few medications have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The efficacy of mirtazapine in the treatment of cocaine dependence with comorbid depression.

Background: Prior findings concerning the use of mirtazapine in the treatment of a variety of substance use disorders and its antagonistic actions at the serotonin 5-HT(2A) receptor suggest that this drug may have efficacy in the treatment of cocaine dependence in the presence of a depressive disorder.

Methods: Depressed cocaine-dependent subjects received either mirtazapine (target dose 45 mg daily) or placebo for 12 weeks. Urine concentrations of benzoylecgonine and self-report were used to assess cocaine consumption.

A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to assess the efficacy of quetiapine fumarate XR in very heavy-drinking alcohol-dependent patients.

Background: Despite advances in developing medications to treat alcohol dependence, few such medications have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Identified molecular targets are encouraging and can lead to the development and testing of new compounds. Atypical antipsychotic medications have been explored with varying results.

Effects of yoga versus walking on mood, anxiety, and brain GABA levels: a randomized controlled MRS study.

Objectives: Yoga and exercise have beneficial effects on mood and anxiety. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic activity is reduced in mood and anxiety disorders. The practice of yoga postures is associated with increased brain GABA levels.

Open label trial of the tolerability and efficacy of zonisamide in the treatment of alcohol dependence.

Objectives: The objectives of this study are to assess the tolerability and efficacy of the anticonvulsant zonisamide in an open label trial of the treatment of alcohol dependence.

Methods: In this trial, zonisamide (400-mg daily) was administered to alcohol-dependent subjects (ADS) (n = 16) over 13 weeks. The mean daily consumption of standard alcoholic drinks and performance on a verbal fluency task, the COWAT, and on a measure of attention and visuomotor speed, the DSMT were assessed, and the occurrence of adverse events was monitored weekly.

The anticonvulsant zonisamide reduces ethanol self-administration by risky drinkers.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of zonisamide on ethanol self-administration and subjective effects in risky drinkers using a human laboratory paradigm.

Method: We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effects of zonisamide 100 mg on ethanol self-administration and urge to drink in risky drinkers (N = 10) ( [1] ).

Result: During the second hour of a 2-hour self-administration session ethanol consumption was 50% lower in the zonisamide group as compared to the placebo group.

Modafinil for the treatment of cocaine dependence.

Aim: Modafinil was tested for efficacy in facilitating abstinence in cocaine-dependent patients, compared to placebo.

Methods: This was a double-blind placebo-controlled study, with 12 weeks of treatment and a 4-week follow-up. Six outpatient substance abuse treatment clinics participated in the study.

Deep brain stimulation of the nucleus accumbens reduces ethanol consumption in rats.

Recent studies have shown that deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) has an inhibitory effect on drug-seeking behaviors including reinstatement responding for cocaine. The objective of the present study was to expand on these findings by assessing the effects of DBS on behaviors related to alcohol consumption. The specific aim of this study was to determine whether DBS delivered to either the shell or core of the NAcc would reduce ETOH intake in rats using a two-bottle choice limited access procedure.

Deep brain stimulation of the nucleus accumbens shell attenuates cocaine priming-induced reinstatement of drug seeking in rats.

Increasing evidence suggests that deep brain stimulation (DBS), which is currently being used as a therapy for neurological diseases, may be effective in the treatment of psychiatric disorders as well. Here, we examined the influence of DBS of the nucleus accumbens shell on cocaine priming-induced reinstatement of drug seeking, an animal model of relapse. Rats were allowed to self-administer cocaine (0.

Differences between daily smokers, chippers, and nonsmokers with co-occurring anxiety and alcohol-use disorders.

Tobacco use is disproportionately represented among both alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) and anxiety disorders (ANX) compared to the general population [Kalman, D. A., Morissette, S.