Dopamine and Opioid Neurotransmission in Behavioral Addictions: A Comparative PET Study in Pathological Gambling and Binge Eating.

ABSTRACT: Although behavioral addictions share many clinical features with drug addictions, they show strikingly large variation in their behavioral phenotypes (such as in uncontrollable gambling or eating). Neurotransmitter function in behavioral addictions is poorly understood, but has important implications in understanding its relationship with substance use disorders and underlying mechanisms of therapeutic efficacy. Here, we compare opioid and dopamine function between two behavioral addiction phenotypes: pathological gambling (PG) and binge eating disorder (BED). Thirty-nine participants (15 PG, 7 BED, and 17 controls) were scanned with [¹¹C]carfentanil and [¹⁸F]fluorodopa positron emission tomography using a high-resolution scanner. Binding potentials relative to non-di

SUBMITTER: Majuri J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5357051 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature