Validation of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) With Bulgarian Substance Dependent Individuals.

The Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) is a 23-item self-report questionnaire that assesses four well-validated personality risk factors for substance misuse (Impulsivity, Sensation Seeking, Anxiety Sensitivity, and Hopelessness). While the SURPS has been used extensively with adolescents at risk for substance dependence, its properties with adult substance-dependent populations have been understudied. Further, the validity of the Bulgarian version of the SURPS has not been evaluated.

Violence and aggression in young women: The importance of psychopathy and neurobiological function.

Psychopathy is one of the most researched risk factors for violence. Yet, research in women is sparse. The present study aimed to test if the link between the four-facet structure of psychopathy and interpersonal violence and aggression was moderated by neurobiological function (indexed by resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia; RSA).

Utilizing Buprenorphine in the Emergency Department after Overdose.

The United States is currently in the midst of an opioid epidemic. Barriers to treatment in the emergency department can lead to missed opportunities for helping prevent overdose and relapse in individuals with opioid use disorder. The administration of buprenorphine in the emergency department can potentially lead to better treatment outcomes for these individuals.

The 5-HT Receptor (5-HTR) Regulates Impulsive Action and Cocaine Cue Reactivity in Male Sprague-Dawley Rats.

Impulsivity and the attentional orienting response to cocaine-associated cues () promote relapse in cocaine-use disorder (CUD). A time-dependent escalation of cue reactivity () occurs during extended, forced abstinence from cocaine self-administration in rats. The investigational serotonin (5-HT) 5-HT receptor (5-HTR) antagonist/inverse agonist M100907 suppresses , or the inability to withhold premature responses, and cocaine-seeking behaviors.

A central role for glial CCR5 in directing the neuropathological interactions of HIV-1 Tat and opiates.

Background: The collective cognitive and motor deficits known as HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) remain high even among HIV+ individuals whose antiretroviral therapy is optimized. HAND is worsened in the context of opiate abuse. The mechanism of exacerbation remains unclear but likely involves chronic immune activation of glial cells resulting from persistent, low-level exposure to the virus and viral proteins.

The relationship between on-campus service utilization and common mental health concerns in undergraduate college students.

Little research exists into the trends associated with on-campus service utilization for mental health concerns of college students. Rates of broad service utilization exist, but no published study has examined the direct relationship between a range of common mental health symptoms and on-campus service utilization. The aims of the present study are to explore (1) which common mental health concerns are associated with specific on-campus service utilization in undergraduate students and (2) whether endorsement of more mental health concerns will predict a higher number of services utilized.

The Outcome-Representation Learning Model: A Novel Reinforcement Learning Model of the Iowa Gambling Task.

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is widely used to study decision-making within healthy and psychiatric populations. However, the complexity of the IGT makes it difficult to attribute variation in performance to specific cognitive processes. Several cognitive models have been proposed for the IGT in an effort to address this problem, but currently no single model shows optimal performance for both short- and long-term prediction accuracy and parameter recovery.

Impulsivity and decision making in older and younger cocaine-dependent participants: A preliminary study.

Background And Objectives: Substance misuse is increasing in the older population, which may have differing effects on behavior compared to younger substance participants. Differences in trait and state impulsivity were assessed in younger and older cocaine-dependent participants.

Methods: Thirty-one younger cocaine-dependent participants (n = 31) and 21 older cocaine-dependent participants (n = 21) were assessed using the Barrett Impulsiveness Scale-11 and the Immediate Memory Task.

Parental alcohol use disorder and offspring marital outcomes.

Aims: We tested whether parental alcohol use disorder (AUD) predicted adult offspring's likelihood of marriage and marriage to an AUD-affected spouse; whether effects differed as a function of the sex or number of affected parents; and whether they were robust to confounders.

Design: Sex-stratified Cox and logistic regression models.

Setting: Sweden.

Fronto-striatal effective connectivity of working memory in adults with cannabis use disorder.

Previous working memory (WM) studies found that relative to controls, subjects with cannabis use disorder (CUD) showed greater brain activation in some regions (e.g., left [L] and right [R] ventrolateral prefrontal cortex [VLPFC], and L dorsolateral prefrontal cortex [L-DLPFC]), and lower activation in other regions (e.

Decision-Making Under Risk, but Not Under Ambiguity, Predicts Pathological Gambling in Discrete Types of Abstinent Substance Users.

This study explored how different forms of reward-based decision-making are associated with pathological gambling (PG) among abstinent individuals with prior dependence on different classes of drugs. Participants had lifetime histories of either "pure" heroin dependence ( = 64), "pure" amphetamine dependence ( = 51), or polysubstance dependence ( = 89), or had no history of substance dependence ( = 133). Decision-making was assessed via two neurocognitive tasks: (1) the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), a measure of decision-making under ambiguity (i.

Nociceptin/orphanin FQ receptors modulate the discriminative stimulus effects of oxycodone in C57BL/6 mice.

Background: Nociceptin/orphanin FQ (NOP) receptor ligands have shown efficacy as putative analgesics and can modulate the abuse-related effects of opioids, suggesting therapeutic applications. The discriminative stimulus effects of a drug are related to their subjective effects, a predictor of abuse potential. To determine whether activation of NOP receptors could alter the subjective effects of an abused opioid analgesic, a novel oxycodone discrimination was established in mice, characterized with positive and negative controls, and its expression evaluated with a NOP receptor agonist.

Testing associations between cannabis use and subcortical volumes in two large population-based samples.

Background And Aims: Disentangling the putative impact of cannabis on brain morphology from other comorbid substance use is critical. After controlling for the effects of nicotine, alcohol and multi-substance use, this study aimed to determine whether frequent cannabis use is associated with significantly smaller subcortical grey matter volumes.

Design: Exploratory analyses using mixed linear models, one per region of interest (ROI), were performed whereby individual differences in volume (outcome) at seven subcortical ROIs were regressed onto cannabis and comorbid substance use (predictors).

Opiate Drugs with Abuse Liability Hijack the Endogenous Opioid System to Disrupt Neuronal and Glial Maturation in the Central Nervous System.

The endogenous opioid system, comprised of multiple opioid neuropeptide and receptor gene families, is highly expressed by developing neural cells and can significantly influence neuronal and glial maturation. In many central nervous system (CNS) regions, the expression of opioid peptides and receptors occurs only transiently during development, effectively disappearing with subsequent maturation only to reemerge under pathologic conditions, such as with inflammation or injury. Opiate drugs with abuse liability act to modify growth and development by mimicking the actions of endogenous opioids.

Alcohol Use and Problems in Daily and Non-Daily Coffee Drinking College Females.

Background: For more than a decade, a large proportion of research on caffeine use in college students has focused on energy drinks (ED), demonstrating an association between ED consumption and heavy/problem alcohol use. The present study examined the relationship between daily coffee consumption and varied measures of alcohol use and problems in a sample of college women.

Methods: Participants were undergraduate females (N=360) attending an urban university in 2001-02 and prior to the rise in ED popularity on college campuses.

CCR5 mediates HIV-1 Tat-induced neuroinflammation and influences morphine tolerance, dependence, and reward.

The HIV-1 regulatory protein, trans-activator of transcription (Tat), interacts with opioids to potentiate neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration within the CNS. These effects may involve the C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5); however, the behavioral contribution of CCR5 on Tat/opioid interactions is not known. Using a transgenic murine model that expresses HIV-1 Tat protein in a GFAP-regulated, doxycycline-inducible manner, we assessed morphine tolerance, dependence, and reward.

Altered anterior cingulate cortex to hippocampus effective connectivity in response to drug cues in men with cocaine use disorder.

Drug-related attentional bias may have significant implications for the treatment of cocaine use disorder (CocUD). However, the neurobiology of attentional bias is not completely understood. This study employed dynamic causal modeling (DCM) to conduct an analysis of effective (directional) connectivity involved in drug-related attentional bias in treatment-seeking CocUD subjects.

Confirmed marijuana use and lymphocyte count in black people living with HIV.

Background: Marijuana is a commonly used recreational substance with purported analgesic and mood enhancing properties. Many people living with HIV identify marijuana as a palliative substance. However, through its main psychoactive component, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), is known to influence the immune system.

Effects of sex and HIV serostatus on spatial navigational learning and memory among cocaine users.

Spatial learning and memory are critically dependent on the integrity of hippocampal systems. Functional MRI and neuropathological studies show that hippocampal circuitry is prominently affected among HIV-seropositive individuals, but potential spatial learning and memory deficits have not been studied in detail in this population. We investigated the independent and interactive effects of sex and HIV serostatus on performance of a spatial learning and memory task in a sample of 181 individuals with a history of cocaine dependence.

Impulsivity and cue reactivity in smokers with comorbid depression and anxiety: Possible implications for smoking cessation treatment strategies.

Smoking remains one of the most preventable causes of morbidity and mortality in the United States (1). A number of factors contribute to the initiation and maintenance of smoking behavior, including psychosocial influences (2,3), neurobehavioral traits (4), and genetic susceptibility (5-7). Prevalence rates of tobacco dependence among individuals with mental health issues are strikingly high when compared to the general population, particularly among individuals with depression and anxiety disorders (8).

Gender difference in early initiation of methamphetamine use among current methamphetamine users in Muse, Northern Shan State, Myanmar.

Background: Globally, methamphetamine (MA) use is a significant public health concern due to unprecedented health effects of its use. However, gender similarities and differences in early age of MA initiation and its risk factors among current MA users have been understudied in a developing country setting.

Methods: A community-based, cross-sectional study was conducted using a computer assisted self-interviewing program from January to March 2013 in Muse, Northern Shan State, Myanmar.

Selective Vulnerability of Striatal D2 versus D1 Dopamine Receptor-Expressing Medium Spiny Neurons in HIV-1 Tat Transgenic Male Mice.

Despite marked regional differences in HIV susceptibility within the CNS, there has been surprisingly little exploration into the differential vulnerability among neuron types and the circuits they underlie. The dorsal striatum is especially susceptible, harboring high viral loads and displaying marked neuropathology, with motor impairment a frequent manifestation of chronic infection. However, little is known about the response of individual striatal neuron types to HIV or how this disrupts function.

A preliminary longitudinal study of white matter alteration in cocaine use disorder subjects.

Background: Previous diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have consistently shown that subjects with cocaine use disorder (CocUD) had altered white matter microstructure in the corpus callosum. It is believed that these alterations are due to preexisting factors, chronic cocaine use, or both. However, there is no published longitudinal DTI study on human cocaine users yet which could shed light on the relationship between cocaine use and DTI findings.

Lorcaserin Suppresses Oxycodone Self-Administration and Relapse Vulnerability in Rats.

Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a major public health problem. High relapse rates and poor treatment retention continue to pose major challenges in OUD treatment. Of the abused opioids, oxycodone is well described to maintain self-administration and evoke the durable conditioned responses ("cue reactivity") that result from pairing of opioid-related stimuli (e.