Cue-elicited functional connectivity of the periaqueductal gray and tonic cocaine craving.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Withdrawal from chronic cocaine use leads to anxiety and dysphoria that may perpetuate habitual drug use. The pain circuit is widely implicated in the processing and manifestations of negative emotions. Numerous studies have focused on characterizing reward circuit dysfunction but relatively little is known about the pain circuit response during cocaine withdrawal.

Methods

Here we examined the activity and connectivity of the periaqueductal gray (PAG), a hub of the pain circuit, during cocaine cue exposure in 52 recently abstinent cocaine dependent participants (CD, 42 men). Imaging data were processed with published routines, and the results were evaluated at a corrected threshold.

Results

CD showed higher activation of the PAG and connectivity of the PAG

SUBMITTER: Zhang S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7606798 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature