Structural brain changes associated with cocaine use and digital cognitive behavioral therapy in cocaine use disorder treatment.

Background: Few studies have investigated changes in brain structure and function associated with recovery from cocaine use disorder (CUD), and fewer still have identified brain changes associated with specific CUD treatments, which could inform treatment development and optimization.

Methods: In this longitudinal study, T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans were acquired from 41 methadone-maintained individuals with CUD (15 women) at the beginning of and after 12 weeks of outpatient treatment. As part of a larger randomized controlled trial, these participants were randomly assigned to receive (or not) computer-based training for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT4CBT), and galantamine (or placebo).

Enrollment of Spanish-speaking Latinx adults in clinical trials: Five lessons learned from a randomized study in substance use treatment.

Latinx individuals are the largest ethnic minoritized group in the United States (US) at 19% of the population. However, they remain underrepresented in clinical research, accounting for less than 8% of clinical trial participants. Consideration of cultural values could help overcome barriers to inclusion in clinical trials and result in better recruitment and retention of Latinx individuals.

Association of e-Cigarette Use and Postpartum Depression: Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System 2016-2019.

Postpartum depression (PPD) is a prevalent public health concern. Combustible cigarette use is associated with increased risk of PPD. While electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use during pregnancy is linked to increased risk of depressive symptoms during pregnancy, the relationship between e-cigarette use and PPD is not well understood.

Diagnostic group differences and exploratory sex differences in intrinsic connectivity during fMRI Stroop in individuals with and without cocaine use disorder.

Background: Sex-/gender-related differences in cognitive control and how they relate to addictions may inform novel treatment options. Cognitive control, including Stroop performance, has been linked to addictions and treatment outcomes. The extent to which women and men with cocaine use disorder (CUD) show brain and behavioral differences relating to Stroop performance has not been previously studied.

Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Effects on Smoking: A Review and Proof of Concept of Sex-Sensitive Effects.

Purpose Of Review: This article reviews recent research on how catechol--methyltransferase (COMT) may impact cigarette smoking behavior, and how effects may be sex-sensitive. Preliminary data are presented on sex-sensitive effects of COMT on response to short-term abstinence in individuals who smoke.

Recent Findings: Although research is mixed, functional variants in the COMT gene have been linked with smoking behavior, cessation outcomes and nicotine abstinence-related symptoms.

Examining racial differences in smoking outcomes among smokers enrolled in an intravenous nicotine infusion study.

Introduction: Large racial disparities exist in the prevention and treatment of smoking-related diseases, and minoritized populations carry a heavier burden of smoking-related morbidity and mortality. To date, most studies investigating smoking-related illnesses have been conducted in samples in which the majority, or totality, self-identified as White or Caucasian. While Black individuals who smoke tend to have a lower rate of nicotine clearance, in part due to the use of mentholated cigarettes, less is known about how slower clearance affects their acute subjective and physiologic responses in response to either overnight abstinence or subsequent nicotine administration.

Modafinil Does Not Reduce Cocaine Use in Methadone-Maintained Individuals.

Introduction: There are no approved medications for the treatment of cocaine use disorder (CUD). Modafinil, a cognitive-enhancer with weak stimulant-like effects, has shown promise in initial studies as a treatment for CUD. Its potential efficacy has not been examined in individuals dually dependent on cocaine and opioids.

Plasma Menthol Glucuronide as a Biomarker for the Behavioral Effects of Menthol and Nicotine in Humans.

This secondary analysis sought to determine if plasma menthol glucuronide (MG) concentrations predict changes in three outcomes, subjective drug effects, urges to smoke, and heart rate, following concurrent inhaled menthol and intravenous nicotine. A total of 45 menthol and non-menthol cigarettes smokers (36 male, nine female, 20 Black, and 23 White) were included in this double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Across three test sessions, participants were assigned to a different flavor condition for each session: 0% (no menthol), 0.

Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) Use and Pregnancy II: Perinatal Outcomes Following ENDS Use During Pregnancy.

Purpose Of Review: This review examines the risk of adverse perinatal outcomes following electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) use during pregnancy, and considers whether there are sufficient data to support ENDS as a harm reduction approach during pregnancy.

Recent Findings: Seven papers assessed perinatal outcomes following ENDS use during pregnancy. There was evidence that ENDS use was associated with increased risk for some adverse perinatal outcomes (e.

Religiosity and Spirituality in Latinx Individuals with Substance Use Disorders: Association with Treatment Outcomes in a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Although many studies have examined religiosity as a protective factor for substance use, few have considered its relationship to treatment outcomes among Latinx adults. Using data from 89 individuals participating in a randomized clinical trial evaluating a culturally adapted Spanish-language version of web-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT4CBT-Spanish) for substance use, we evaluated the relationship between religiosity, as measured by the Religious Background and Behavior questionnaire, and treatment outcomes. Overall, there were few significant correlations between religiosity scores and treatment outcomes.

Threshold for the pleasurable effects of nicotine are lower than its reinforcing effects during self-administration.

A recent study demonstrated that during a single sampling period, 0.1 mg of intravenous (IV) nicotine (vs. placebo) was found to be the threshold for subjective and physiological drug effects.

Impact of delivery rate on the acute response to intravenous nicotine: A human laboratory study with implications for regulatory science.

Faster delivery rate enhances the abuse potential of drugs of abuse, yet systematic studies on the impact of delivery rate on the acute effects of nicotine in humans are lacking. Using an intravenous (IV) nicotine infusion procedure that allows precise control of rate of delivery, we examined the impact of nicotine delivery rate on the positive subjective drug effects, smoking urges, withdrawal, heart rate, blood pressure and attention function in smokers. Twenty-four male and female (ages 21-35) dependent smokers attended five experimental sessions, following overnight abstinence from smoking.

Discrete Roles for Impulsivity and Compulsivity in Gambling Disorder.

Complex associations between gambling disorder (GD) and impulsivity have been identified. However, little is known regarding how compulsivity associates with different impulsivity domains in GD. In this study, we examined associations between self-reported and behavioral measures of impulsivity-assessed through the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) and the Experiential Discounting Task (EDT), respectively- and compulsivity-measured using the Padua Inventory and the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), respectively-, in an adult sample with GD ( = 132, 94 men and 38 women, ages ranging from 18 to 69 years).

Longitudinal changes in network engagement during cognitive control in cocaine use disorder.

Background: Cocaine use disorder (CUD) is characterized by poor cognitive control and has limited empirically supported treatment options. Furthermore, an understanding of brain mechanisms underlying CUD is at a relatively early stage. Thus, this study aimed to investigate longitudinal alterations in functional neural networks associated with cognitive control in cocaine use disorder (CUD).

Impulsivity across substance use categories: Consideration of sex/gender.

Purpose Of Review: The goal was to review recent (1/2015-2/2020) evidence of impulsivity as a feature of substance use disorders or use of substances (alcohol, cannabis, nicotine, opioids, stimulants) in males compared to females in terms of: a) impulsivity in substance-using groups (or substance-using compared to control groups), and b) relationship between impulsivity and substance use behavior, clinical severity, or treatment outcomes.

Recent Findings: Of 361 papers identified by the searches, 69 met inclusion criteria, and 39 were highlighted for considering sex/gender in relation to impulsivity in substance-using populations. Taken together, findings supported higher impulsivity in males and females who use substances, relative to controls; and higher impulsivity was linked with more substance use/severity in both sex/genders.

The effects of inhaled flavors on intravenous nicotine.

Menthol is the only available flavor in combusted tobacco cigarettes; however, e-cigarettes are available in thousands of flavors. Research on flavors and rewarding properties of nicotine is limited. The present study sought to examine the acute rewarding effects of flavors inhaled from an e-cigarette, in combination with intravenous (IV) nicotine among cigarette smokers.

Anhedonia as a key clinical feature in the maintenance and treatment of opioid use disorder.

There is a critical need for research on clinical features that may influence response to treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Given its neurobiology and relevance to opioid use, anhedonia may be one such promising clinical feature. We identified and reviewed 11 studies that measured anhedonia in humans with OUD to characterize the current state of evidence and highlight potential implications for treatment.

Randomized placebo-controlled trial of galantamine in individuals with cocaine use disorder.

No pharmacotherapies are approved for the treatment of cocaine use disorder (CUD). Galantamine, a cholinesterase inhibitor, has shown initial promise for cocaine use reduction in methadone-maintained individuals with CUD and cognitive improvement in abstinent individuals with past CUD. However, galantamine has not previously tested in individuals with current CUD and no comorbid opioid use disorder or methadone maintenance.

Clinical validation of reduction in cocaine frequency level as an endpoint in clinical trials for cocaine use disorder.

Background: Despite calls for non-abstinence endpoints in randomized clinical trials (RCTs) for cocaine use disorder, there is a lack of data validating non-abstinence endpoints. We conducted a clinical validation of reduction in cocaine frequency level as a non-abstinence endpoint in RCTs for cocaine use disorder (CUD).

Methods: We utilized a pooled dataset (n = 716; 63.