Hyperresponsiveness of the Neural Fear Network During Fear Conditioning and Extinction Learning in Male Cocaine Users

• Published in: The American journal of psychiatry 2016-10, Vol.173 (10), p.1033-1042
• Main Authors: Kaag, Anne Marije, Levar, Nina, Woutersen, Karlijn, Homberg, Judith, van den Brink, Wim, Reneman, Liesbeth, van Wingen, Guido
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Amygdala - physiopathology; Brain; Case-Control Studies; Cerebral Cortex - physiopathology; Cocaine-Related Disorders - physiopathology; Conditioning (Psychology) - physiology; Drug abuse; Extinction, Psychological - physiology; Fear - physiology; Functional Neuroimaging; Galvanic Skin Response - physiology; Humans; Learning; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Mental disorders; Middle Aged; Prefrontal Cortex - physiopathology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0002-953X; 1535-7228
• DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.2016.15040433

Objective:The authors investigated whether cocaine use disorder is associated with abnormalities in the neural underpinnings of aversive conditioning and extinction learning, as these processes may play an important role in the development and persistence of drug abuse.Method:Forty male regular cocaine users and 51 male control subjects underwent a fear conditioning and extinction protocol during functional MRI. Skin conductance response was measured throughout the experiment as an index of conditioned responses.Results:Cocaine users showed hyperresponsiveness of the amygdala and insula during fear conditioning, as well as hyporesponsiveness of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex during extinction learning. In cocaine users, but not in control subjects, skin conductance responses were positively correlated with responsiveness of the insula, amygdala, and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex during fear conditioning but negatively correlated with responsiveness of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex during extinction learning.Conclusions:Increased sensitivity to aversive conditioned cues in cocaine users might be a risk factor for stress-relief craving in cocaine use disorder. These results support the postulated role of altered aversive conditioning in cocaine use disorder and may be an important step in understanding the role of aversive learning in the pathology of cocaine use disorder.