Brain Imaging of Tobacco Craving Using fMRI

描述：(申请人提供)在过去的十年中，对 渴求在理解成瘾神经生物学基础中的意义 专门针对渴望的新疗法的开发增加了 NIDA和NIDA发布的特别资金倡议呈指数级增长 NIAAA。一些研究人员已经开始进行神经成像研究，以 确定调节主观和行为的大脑区域 渴望的表现。此应用程序的目的是利用 成熟的激发渴望的意象技巧 香烟与功能磁共振成像联合识别特定的大脑区域 其激活模式与渴望有关。它的一个功能是 拟议的研究是使用成像程序，在其中吸烟的冲动 材料所处的语境也会产生正面、负面或 在生动程度上相匹配的中性情绪状态。那些 大脑的激活模式与渴望有关，并且不依赖于 情感背景，是特别感兴趣的。先前的研究表明 边缘系统激活在药物渴求意志期的重要性 指导我们的研究。然而，目前的设计允许确定 对物质的渴求引发的情绪基调在 确定大脑的激活模式。这项研究的结果将 提供研究潜在行为和药理学的技术 使用渴求的自我报告和fMRI模式的治疗干预 以大脑激活为终点。进一步，制定可靠有效的 应用自我报告和fMRI技术研究渴求的神经关联 将允许未来的研究检验调节自我报告的变量 欲望的测量改变了大脑的激活模式。这些领域 大脑激活与脑电活动的变化密切相关 渴望的自我报告最有可能具有功能意义和 因此，对于药理学干预来说，这可能是重要的终点。 最后，由于尼古丁依赖是一种典型的成瘾，这项研究 应该为其他药物依赖的类似研究提供一个模型。

DESCRIPTION: (provided by applicant) Over this last decade, research on the significance of craving in understanding the neurobiological basis of addiction and for developing new therapies that specifically target craving has increased exponentially with special funding initiatives promulgated by both NIDA and NIAAA. Several investigators have embarked upon neuroimaging studies to identify the brain regions mediating the subjective and behavioral manifestations of craving. The purpose of this application is to utilize well-established imagery techniques for the elicitation of craving for cigarettes in conjunction with fMRI to identify the specific brain regions whose pattern of activation is associated with craving. One feature of the proposed research is the use of imagery procedures in which smoking-urge material is presented in a context that also produces positive, negative or neutral emotional mood states that are matched in terms of vividness. Those patterns of brain activation associated with craving, and independent of the emotional context, are of special interest. Prior research indicating the importance of limbic system activation during periods of drug craving will guide our research. However, the present design allows the determination of whether the emotional tone provoked by craving material is important in determining the pattern of brain activation. The results of this research will provide techniques for studying potential behavioral and pharmacological treatment interventions using both self-report of craving and fMRI patterns of brain activation as end points. Further, the development of reliable and valid self-report and fMRI techniques for studying the neural correlates of craving will permit future research examining how variables that modulate self-reported measures of craving change the pattern of brain activation. Those areas of brain activation that are most strongly associated with variations in self-reports of craving are most likely to be of functional significance and therefore potentially important end points for pharmacological interventions. Finally, because nicotine dependence is a prototypic addiction, this research should provide a model for similar research with other drug dependencies.