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Attentional bias for drug cues in opiate dependence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2000

D. I. LUBMAN ,
L. A. PETERS ,
K. MOGG ,
B. P. BRADLEY  and
J. F. W. DEAKIN
D. I. LUBMAN
Affiliation:
Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, University of Manchester; and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge
L. A. PETERS
Affiliation:
Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, University of Manchester; and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge
K. MOGG
Affiliation:
Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, University of Manchester; and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge
B. P. BRADLEY
Affiliation:
Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, University of Manchester; and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge
J. F. W. DEAKIN
Affiliation:
Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, University of Manchester; and Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge
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Abstract

Background. In a number of theories of compulsive drug use conditioned responses to stimuli associated with drug taking play a pivotal role. For example, according to incentive-sensitization theory (Robinson & Berridge, 1993), drug-related stimuli selectively capture attention, and the neural mechanisms underlying this attentional bias play a key role in the development and maintenance of drug dependence, and in relapse. However, there has been little work that assesses attentional biases in addiction.

Methods. We used a pictorial probe detection task to investigate whether there is an attentional bias to stimuli associated with drug use in opiate dependence. Stimuli presented included pairs of drug-related and matched neutral pictures. Methadone-maintained opiate addicts (N = 16) were compared with age-matched controls (N = 16).

Results. A mixed design analysis of variance of response times to probes revealed a significant three-way interaction of group×drug picture location×probe location. Opiate addicts had relatively faster reaction times to probes that replaced drug pictures rather than neutral pictures, consistent with the predicted attentional bias to drug-related stimuli.

Conclusions. These results support the idea that an attentional bias for drug-related stimuli occurs in opiate dependence. This is consistent with the concept of a central role for such salient stimuli in compulsive drug use.

Type
Research Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , January 2000 , pp. 169 - 175
Copyright
© 2000 Cambridge University Press

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