Brain imaging studies of cocaine abuse: implications for medication development.

摘要: Contemporary in vivo brain imaging techniques confer the ability to assess function and structure noninvasively, thereby can yield information help guide development of new treatments for substance abuse. The advantages limitations major modalities (positron emission tomography [PET], single photon computed [SPECT], structural functional magnetic resonance [MRI, fMRI, respectively]) are discussed with respect their applicability research on cocaine effects acute administration have been studied using PET manifesting decreases cerebral glucose metabolism blood flow, fMRI revealing regional that correlated temporally subjective responses. In addition, studies drug abusers, abstinent from various lengths time, revealed persistent differences structure, especially frontal cortex, when compared parameters brains subjects who do not use illicit drugs also abnormalities markers dopaminergic opioid systems during withdrawal cocaine. Moreover, cue-elicited craving demonstrate a connection between response drug-related stimuli neural elements cognition emotion. future directions identify alterations abusers relation medications treat dependence.