Sensory modality of smoking cues modulates neural cue reactivity

Abstract

These observations are in line with the hypothesized role of the dorsal striatum for the expression of drug habits and the well-established concept of drug-related automatized schemata, since haptic perception is more closely linked to the corresponding object-specific action pattern than visual perception. Moreover, our findings demonstrate that with the growing severity of nicotine dependence, brain regions involved in object perception, memory, self-processing, and motor control exhibit an increasing preference for haptic over visual smoking cues. This difference was not found for control stimuli. Considering the sensory modality of the presented cues could serve to develop more reliable fMRI-specific biomarkers, more ecologically valid experimental designs, and more effective cue-exposure therapies of addiction.

Cannabis cue-induced brain activation correlates with drug craving in limbic and visual salience regions: Preliminary results

“…Activation of the ventral striatum/nucleus accumbens region has been reported in some studies of drug craving, reviewed in (Yalachkov et al, 2013) and in a recent report of cannabis craving (Goldman et al, 2012) We did not detect activation in this region in our study, a finding in line with the study of Filbey and colleagues (Filbey et al, 2009) and Cousijn and colleagues (Cousijn et al, 2012). The reasons for these discrepancies are unclear but may relate to different levels of cannabis use, different levels of craving, or other methodological differences across studies.…”

Effect of Network Social Capital on the Chances of Smoking Relapse: A Two-Year Follow-up Study of Urban-Dwelling Adults

“…Given the addictive properties of tobacco smoking and the importance of neural and visual cues in smoking relapse, spatial proximity might reinforce the influence of social proximity on smoking relapse. 28 …”

Factors modulating neural reactivity to drug cues in addiction: A survey of human neuroimaging studies

“…The shared feature of these paradigms is that drug users are exposed to stimuli associated with their respective drug of abuse. These drug-related cues may be visual (seeing words, pictures or silent videos) (Janes et al, 2010b; Luijten et al, 2011), auditory (e.g., listening to imagery scripts) (Kilts et al, 2001; Seo et al, 2011), audiovisual (Childress et al, 1999; Garavan et al, 2000; Maas et al, 1998), tactile or haptic (handling the corresponding paraphernalia) (Filbey et al, 2009; Wilson et al, 2013; Wilson et al, 2005; Yalachkov et al, 2013), olfactory or gustatory (smelling or tasting the substance) (Claus et al, 2011; Schneider et al, 2001); increasingly often, multi-sensory drug cues are also employed (e.g., holding a cigarette while watching audio-videos of smoking) (Brody et al, 2007; Franklin et al, 2007; Grant et al, 1996). Subjects may be instructed to passively experience the drug cues or, alternatively, they may be required to actively respond to these stimuli.…”

“…Drug-taking skills have been suggested to constitute the core of drug acquisition and consumption behavior, which becomes highly automatized after repeated practice (Tiffany, 1990). However, the neural representations of drug-taking skills in the PMC, MC, SMA, SPL, IPL, pMTG, ITC and cerebellum have only recently attracted the interest of the addiction field (Wagner et al, 2011; Yalachkov et al, 2013; Yalachkov et al, 2009, 2010; Yalachkov and Naumer, 2011). …”