Journal
NEUROIMAGE
Volume 78, Issue -, Pages 176-185Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.03.055
Keywords
Naltrexone; Alcoholism; fMRI; Magnetic resonance imaging; Craving
Funding
- National Institute on Drug Abuse [R43DA013531]
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [N43AA001002]
- Alkermes, Inc., Waltham, MA
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Oral naltrexone reduces heavy drinking, but is less consistent as an abstinence promoter, whereas once-monthly extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) also maintains abstinence. The present study sought to determine if alcohol cue reactivity is attenuated by XR-NTX Twenty-eight detoxified alcohol-dependent adult male and female volunteers received a single i.m. injection of either XR-NTX or placebo under double-blind conditions. An fMRI/cue reactivity procedure was conducted immediately before and two weeks after injection. At baseline, alcohol-related visual and olfactory cues elicited significant increases in orbital and cingulate gyri, inferior frontal and middle frontal gyri. Subsequently, brain activation was significantly altered in XR-NTX-treated individuals. These affected brain regions are associated with the integration of emotion, cognition, reward, punishment, and learning/memory, suggesting that XR-NTX attenuates the salience of alcohol-related cues. Such an effect on brain function may interrupt the processes associated with slips and relapse, which may account for XR-NTX's ability to maintain abstinence. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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