Randomized controlled trial of group motivational interviewing for veterans with substance use disorders.

Background: Motivational interviewing delivered in a group format is understudied yet promising as a treatment for substance use disorders (SUD). We evaluated the efficacy of group motivational interviewing (GMI) relative to a treatment-control (TCC) for enhancing treatment and self-help engagement and decreasing alcohol and drug use among veterans with SUD and co-existing psychiatric disorders.

Method: Veterans (n = 118) with alcohol use disorder were recruited within an outpatient SUD treatment program and randomized to GMI or TCC upon program entry.

Paradoxical olfactory function in combat veterans: The role of PTSD and odor factors.

Stress- and trauma-related disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), are characterized by an increased sensitivity to threat cues. Given that threat detection is a critical function of olfaction and that combat trauma is commonly associated with burning odors, we sought a better understanding of general olfactory function as well as response to specific trauma-related (i.e.

Effect of a Brief Memory Updating Intervention on Smoking Behavior: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Recent research on addiction-related memory processes suggests that protracted extinction training following brief cue-elicited memory retrieval (ie, retrieval-extinction [R-E] training) can attenuate/eradicate the ability of cues to elicit learned behaviors. One study reported that cue-elicited craving among detoxified heroin addicts was substantially attenuated following R-E training and through 6-month follow-up.

Objective: To build on these impressive findings by examining whether R-E training could attenuate smoking-related craving and behavior.

Impact of group motivational interviewing on enhancing treatment engagement for homeless Veterans with nicotine dependence and other substance use disorders: A pilot investigation.

Background: Prior studies have shown that Group Motivational Interviewing (GMI) for dually diagnosed patients holds promise for increasing treatment engagement.

Objectives: The current study evaluated the impact of a novel GMI protocol that included tobacco-specific components (referred to as "Tobacco GMI or T-GMI") targeting enhanced engagement in smoking cessation treatment.

Methods: Thirty-seven primary alcohol and nicotine-dependent cigarette smoking homeless Veterans with co-morbid psychiatric conditions were recruited to receive four GMI sessions over 4 consecutive days.

Change talk and relatedness in group motivational interviewing: a pilot study.

Background: Change talk (CT), or client speech in favor of change, is a hypothesized mechanism of action in motivational interviewing (MI) for substance use disorders. Although group-based treatment is the primary treatment modality for the majority of clients seeking substance use treatment, limited research has examined group motivational interviewing (GMI) among this population, and no study has examined CT within GMI. Therefore, in the current study we examined both standard CT (e.

Menstrual cycle phase effects in the gender dimorphic stress cue reactivity of smokers.

Introduction: We previously reported that female smokers evidence greater subjective craving and stress/emotional reactivity to personalized stress cues than males. The present study employed the same dataset to assess whether females in the follicular versus luteal phase of the menstrual cycle accounted for the gender differences.

Methods: Two objective criteria, onset of menses and luteinizing hormone surge (evaluated via home testing kits), were used to determine whether female smokers were in either the follicular (n = 22) or the luteal (n = 15) phase of their menstrual cycle, respectively.

Olfactory cue reactivity in nicotine-dependent adult smokers.

Cue-elicited reactivity is a significant factor in relapse during smoking quit attempts. Previous research has focused primarily on visual smoking cues, with very limited research examining reactivity to olfactory triggers. Twenty-six adult non-treatment-seeking, nicotine-dependent smokers were exposed to 7 odorants during a cue-reactivity session measuring heart rate, skin conductance, and subjective craving.

Craving, cue reactivity, and stimulus control among early-stage young smokers: effects of smoking intensity and gender.

Introduction: Smoking initiation usually begins in adolescence, but how and for whom nicotine dependence emerges during this period is unclear. The cue-reactivity paradigm is well suited to examine one marker of dependence: craving-related stimulus control, i.e.

A double-blind placebo-controlled trial of N-acetylcysteine in the treatment of cocaine dependence.

Background: There remains no FDA approved medication for the treatment of cocaine dependence. Preclinical studies and early pilot clinical investigations have suggested that N-acetylcysteine (NAC) may be useful in the treatment of the disorder.

Objective: The present report assessed the efficacy of NAC in the treatment of cocaine dependence.

A double blind, placebo-controlled study of the effects of post-retrieval propranolol on reconsolidation of memory for craving and cue reactivity in cocaine dependent humans.

Rationale/objectives: This study examined the effects of propranolol vs. placebo, administered immediately after a "retrieval" session of cocaine cue exposure (CCE), on craving and physiological responses occurring 24 h later during a subsequent "test" session of CCE. It was hypothesized that compared to placebo-treated cocaine-dependent (CD) individuals, propranolol-treated CD individuals would evidence attenuated craving and physiological reactivity during the test session.

Brief motivational feedback may enhance treatment entry in veterans with comorbid substance use and psychiatric disorders.

Background And Objectives: There are limited investigations of brief interventions to facilitate treatment entry among individuals with substance use disorders. This study investigated the effectiveness of brief motivational feedback (BMF) for increasing entry into intensive substance abuse treatment in veteran patients.

Methods: Veteran patients (N = 84) with substance use disorders referred for an intake assessment in a substance abuse specialty clinic received either (i) intake assessment plus BMF or (ii) intake assessment as usual (AAU).

Computer simulation games as an adjunct for treatment in male veterans with alcohol use disorder.

This study examined the impact of a computer simulation designed to provide the opportunity for individuals with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) to practice relapse prevention skills. Participants were 41 male veterans enrolled in an intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment program. Participants were randomly assigned to either view educational slides about treatment for AUD or play a simulation videogame for eight sessions within 12 weeks.

Gender differences in craving and cue reactivity to smoking and negative affect/stress cues.

There is evidence that women may be less successful when attempting to quit smoking than men. One potential contributory cause of this gender difference is differential craving and stress reactivity to smoking- and negative affect/stress-related cues. The present human laboratory study investigated the effects of gender on reactivity to smoking and negative affect/stress cues by exposing nicotine dependent women (n = 37) and men (n = 53) smokers to two active cue types, each with an associated control cue: (1) in vivo smoking cues and in vivo neutral control cues, and (2) imagery-based negative affect/stress script and a neutral/relaxing control script.

Does alexithymia explain variation in cue-elicited craving reported by methamphetamine-dependent individuals?

Drug craving is an important motivational phenomenon among addicted individuals, and successful management of craving is essential to both the initiation and maintenance of abstinence. Although craving in response to drug cues is common in drug-dependent individuals, it is not universal. At the present time, it is not known why approximately 20-30% of all addicted persons fail to report appreciable craving in laboratory-based cue reactivity studies.

Impaired cognitive performance in subjects with methamphetamine dependence during exposure to neutral versus methamphetamine-related cues.

Background: Chronic methamphetamine abuse is associated with cognitive deficits that may impede treatment in methamphetamine-dependent patients. Exposure to methamphetamine-related cues can elicit intense craving in chronic users of the drug, but the effects of exposure to drug cues on cognitive performance in these individuals are unknown.

Objectives: This study assessed whether exposure to methamphetamine-related visual cues can elicit craving and/or alter dual task cognitive performance in 30 methamphetamine-dependent subjects and 30 control subjects in the laboratory.

The Obsessive Compulsive Cocaine Scale: assessment of factor structure, reliability, and validity.

The present study assessed the factor structure, reliability, test retest, convergent validity, and predictive validity of the Obsessive Compulsive Cocaine Scale (OCCS), a newly developed questionnaire adapted from the Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS). The questionnaire was administered to 189 cocaine-dependent individuals participating in two medication treatment trials for cocaine dependence. Confirmatory factor analysis of this measure revealed that it primarily assesses two factors, obsessions and compulsions.

Reactivity to in vivo marijuana cues among cannabis-dependent adolescents.

Introduction: Cannabis dependence is a common but poorly understood condition in adolescents. Marijuana craving has been posited as a potential contributing factor to continued use and relapse, but relatively few studies have focused on the measurement of craving and reactivity to marijuana cues. The present work sought to explore reactivity to marijuana cues within this age group.

The Role of N-Acetylcysteine in Inhibiting Responding During Extinction in Rats Trained to Self-Administer Cocaine.

Previous work has found that N-acetylcysteine inhibits extinction responding in rats trained to self-administer heroin. The current study examined the ability of N-acetylcysteine to inhibit extinction responding in rats trained to self-administer cocaine. Rats were trained to self-administer cocaine (0.

Menstrual cycle and cue reactivity in women smokers.

Introduction: Emerging research suggests potential effects of the menstrual cycle on various aspects of smoking behavior in women, but results to date have been mixed. The present study sought to explore the influence of menstrual cycle phase on reactivity to smoking in vivo and stressful imagery cues in a sample of non-treatment-seeking women smokers.

Methods: Via a within-subjects design, nicotine-dependent women (N = 37) participated in a series of four cue reactivity sessions, each during a distinct biologically verified phase of the menstrual cycle (early follicular [EF], mid-follicular [MF], mid-luteal [ML], and late luteal [LL]).

Laboratory-based, cue-elicited craving and cue reactivity as predictors of naturally occurring smoking behavior.

Cigarette craving, one hallmark sign of nicotine dependence, is often measured in laboratory settings using cue reactivity methods. How lab measures of cue reactivity relate to real world smoking behavior is unclear, particularly among non-treatment seeking smokers. Within a larger study of hormonal effects on cue reactivity (N=78), we examined the predictive relationship of cue reactivity to smoking, each measured in several ways.

Cue reactivity in young marijuana smokers: a preliminary investigation.

To develop and evaluate the feasibility of a cue reactivity paradigm for young marijuana smokers, the authors set up a laboratory procedure involving neutral and marijuana-related imagery, video, and in vivo cues. Fifteen adolescents and young adults with cannabis use disorders completed the procedure, which included continuous measurement of skin conductance and heart rate. Participants also completed questionnaires regarding marijuana craving before, during, and after cue presentations.

Menstrual phase effects on smoking cessation: a pilot feasibility study.

Background And Objectives: A growing body of research suggests that nicotine withdrawal and cigarette craving may vary across the menstrual cycle and that the luteal phase of the cycle may be associated with increases in each. This potential relationship suggests that careful timing of quit attempts during the menstrual cycle may improve initial success at abstinence, although there are no direct tests of this approach yet published. Our objectives were to preliminarily test the effect of timing of quit attempts for smoking cessation relative to menstrual cycle and to identify methodological procedures that could guide subsequent, larger clinical trials.

Is cocaine desire reduced by N-acetylcysteine?

Objective: Animal models suggest that N-acetylcysteine inhibits cocaine-seeking. The present pilot study evaluated whether N-acetylcysteine would suppress reactivity to cocaine-related cues in cocaine-dependent humans.

Method: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 15 participants received N-acetylcysteine or placebo during a 3-day hospitalization.

Reactivity to nicotine cues over repeated cue reactivity sessions.

The present study investigated whether reactivity to nicotine-related cues would attenuate across four experimental sessions held 1 week apart. Participants were nineteen non-treatment seeking, nicotine-dependent males. Cue reactivity sessions were performed in an outpatient research center using in vivo cues consisting of standardized smoking-related paraphernalia (e.