Background: Alcohol and cigarettes are commonly used together, but little is known about their joint motivational impact. Cue reactivity studies have customarily examined alcohol and smoking cues in isolation, despite the potential for cues to elicit stronger motivational responses when combined. This study used a validated cue reactivity procedure (Choice Behavior Under Cued Conditions) systematically to disentangle the separate and joint effects of alcohol and cigarette cues on substance use motivation.
Methods: Participants were 110 adults (M = 34.0, SD = 10.8) who consumed both cigarettes and alcohol. Participants completed 40 cue reactivity trials with four in vivo cue types: water, alcohol, cigarette, and combined cigarette and alcohol. Participants rated their craving prior to receiving opportunities to spend real money to gain access to the cues. Spending larger amounts of money increased the probability that the substance(s) would be available for consumption. When granted access, participants took one cigarette puff and/or sip of the beverage. A multimethod approach assessed three key motivational indices: craving, drug-seeking (spending, latency to access the cue), and consumption (puff duration, alcohol consumed). Effects of cue type and rates of substance use (cigarettes per day, drinks per day, relative frequency of co-use) were assessed using hierarchical linear models.
Results: Both alcohol and smoking cues enhanced cue-specific craving but not craving for the alternative substance. In a novel finding, combined cues elicited higher craving and greater spending than single-drug cues. All drug cues elicited greater spending than water cues, and spending was moderated by the relative frequency of co-use.
Conclusions: We found that combined alcohol and cigarette cues provoke more powerful craving and drug-seeking responses and, therefore, may be more motivationally potent among individuals who use multiple substances.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/acer.14662 | DOI Listing |
Exp Clin Psychopharmacol
January 2025
Substance Use and Concurrent Disorders Program, Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre.
The role of craving in opioid use disorder (OUD) has been well established with respect to heroin but less so with prescription opioids. This pilot study, conducted in 18 treatment-seeking patients with prescription OUD and 18 healthy volunteers, assessed spontaneous (in the moment) and cue-induced craving and their relationship to depression and anxiety. Patients (vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExp Clin Psychopharmacol
January 2025
Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Kentucky University.
Treating substance use disorders is difficult as individuals often resume substance use during abstinence. One potential factor contributing to the recurrence of substance use is incubation of drug craving. Specifically, individuals report higher levels of craving when presented with drug-paired stimuli across abstinence, although this effect is largely absent in opioid-dependent individuals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsychopharmacology (Berl)
December 2024
Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47904, USA.
Rationale: The rise in overdose deaths from synthetic opioids, especially fentanyl, necessitates the development of preclinical models to study fentanyl use disorder (FUD). While there has been progress with rodent models, additional translationally relevant models are needed to examine excessive fentanyl intake and withdrawal signs.
Objective: The current study aimed to develop a translationally relevant preclinical mouse model of FUD by employing chronic intravenous fentanyl self-administration (IVSA).
Behav Pharmacol
February 2025
Department of Neural and Behavioral Sciences.
Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a crisis in the USA. Despite advances with medications for OUD, overdose deaths have continued to rise and are largely driven by fentanyl. We have previously found that male rats readily self-administer fentanyl, with evident individual differences in fentanyl taking, seeking, and reinstatement behaviors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Neuropsychopharmacol
December 2024
National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China.
Background: Understanding drug addiction as a disorder of maladaptive learning, where drug-associated or environmental cues trigger drug cravings and seeking, is crucial for developing effective treatments. Actin polymerization, a biochemical process, plays a crucial role in drug-related memory formation, particularly evident in conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigms involving drugs like morphine and methamphetamine. However, the role of actin polymerization in the reconsolidation of heroin-associated memories remains understudied.
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