We aim to study gender-related differences in behavioral and drug addictions in order to improve prevention and treatment strategies. Urges or cravings are common to behavioral and drug addictions, generally precede participation in the addictive behavior, and thus represent important targets for interventions. An improved understanding of brain mechanisms underlying craving states thus has significant clinical implications. We have established, tested and published on fMRI paradigms investigating the neural correlates of cocaine cravings in cocaine dependence (CD) and gambling urges in pathological gambling (PG). However, these studies have involved predominantly or exclusively men, creating a deficiency in our understanding of craving in women. We propose extending our studies to involve women. We hypothesize that there will exist differences in the brain mechanisms underlying gambling urges in women and men with PG and cocaine cravings in women and men with CD. Specifically, we used fMRI and found relatively decreased activity in the ventral anterior cingulate (vAC) in men with PG during the induction of gambling urges and while performing an impulse control task. Based on our preliminary data, we hypothesize that when viewing gambling cues, women as compared to men with PG experience a greater decrease in vAC activity, a region implicated in multiple studies of impulse control and mood regulation. In our fMRI study of cocaine craving in a predominantly male CD group, we (and others) observed limbic activation (in AC) in the CD group viewing cocaine cues. Preliminary studies investigating cocaine cravings in women as compared to men with CD have found differences in limbic activations in the amygdala, adding to an emerging literature on sex-related amygdala activation differences in motivational and emotional states. We hypothesize that women and men with CD will show differences in AC and amygdala activation during viewing of cocaine cues. We will use our established fMRI paradigm and improved methodologies, including higher resolution imaging and concurrent heart rate monitoring, to investigate these hypotheses. Given our ongoing work to incorporate this fMRI paradigm into treatment trials, the results from the proposed investigation should not only improve the general understanding of the biologies of PG, CD and gender differences in addictions, but also help guide gender-informed prevention and treatment efforts.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01DA019039-01A1
Application #
6985483
Study Section
Neural Basis of Psychopathology, Addictions and Sleep Disorders Study Section (NPAS)
Program Officer
Nemeth-Coslett, Rosemarie V
Project Start
2005-08-01
Project End
2010-05-31
Budget Start
2005-08-01
Budget End
2006-05-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2005
Total Cost
$320,072
Indirect Cost
Name
Yale University
Department
Psychiatry
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
043207562
City
New Haven
State
CT
Country
United States
Zip Code
06520
Yip, Sarah W; Worhunsky, Patrick D; Xu, Jiansong et al. (2018) Gray-matter relationships to diagnostic and transdiagnostic features of drug and behavioral addictions. Addict Biol 23:394-402
Worhunsky, Patrick D; Potenza, Marc N; Rogers, Robert D (2017) Alterations in functional brain networks associated with loss-chasing in gambling disorder and cocaine-use disorder. Drug Alcohol Depend 178:363-371
Yip, Sarah W; Morie, Kristen P; Xu, Jiansong et al. (2017) Shared microstructural features of behavioral and substance addictions revealed in areas of crossing fibers. Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging 2:188-195
Ren, Yudan; Fang, Jun; Lv, Jinglei et al. (2017) Assessing the effects of cocaine dependence and pathological gambling using group-wise sparse representation of natural stimulus FMRI data. Brain Imaging Behav 11:1179-1191
Zhai, Zu Wei; Yip, Sarah W; Steinberg, Marvin A et al. (2017) Relationships Between Perceived Family Gambling and Peer Gambling and Adolescent Problem Gambling and Binge-Drinking. J Gambl Stud 33:1169-1185
Yang, Bao-Zhu; Balodis, Iris M; Lacadie, Cheryl M et al. (2016) A Preliminary Study of DBH (Encoding Dopamine Beta-Hydroxylase) Genetic Variation and Neural Correlates of Emotional and Motivational Processing in Individuals With and Without Pathological Gambling. J Behav Addict 5:282-92
Kober, Hedy; Lacadie, Cheryl M; Wexler, Bruce E et al. (2016) Brain Activity During Cocaine Craving and Gambling Urges: An fMRI Study. Neuropsychopharmacology 41:628-37
Foster, Dawn W; Hoff, Rani A; Pilver, Corey E et al. (2015) Correlates of gambling on high-school grounds. Addict Behav 51:57-64
Weinberger, Andrea H; Franco, Christine A; Hoff, Rani A et al. (2015) Gambling behaviors and attitudes in adolescent high-school students: Relationships with problem-gambling severity and smoking status. J Psychiatr Res 65:131-8
Yip, Sarah W; Mei, Songli; Pilver, Corey E et al. (2015) At-Risk/Problematic Shopping and Gambling in Adolescence. J Gambl Stud 31:1431-1447

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