Transient compulsive foraging behavior associated with crack cocaine use

Abstract

Compulsive foraging behavior associated with use of crack cocaine involves compulsively searching the environment for possibly misplaced pieces of crack. Of 41 crack cocaine addicts evaluated, 33 (80.5%) reported at least some compulsive foraging associated with use of crack; 21 (51.2%) reported such behavior as always associated with crack use. The mean length of time spent in compulsive foraging was 90 minutes. Cocaine-induced foraging may represent a drug-induced model of a type of compulsive behavior.

Emerging patterns of crack use in Mexico City

“…We constructed a framework along specific dimensions that resulted in a typology of crack users. Our findings of the crack head type generally corroborate the compulsive crack user that has been documented in most studies conducted in the U.S. and Western European countries (Barrio et al, 1998; Blanken et al, 1999; Khouzam, Mayo-Smith, Bernard, & Mahdasian, 1995; Oliveira, Ponce, & Nappo, 2010; Pérez, Cruyff, Benschop, & Korf, 2013; Rosse et al, 1993). Similar to this existing research, our study found evidence of a user estranged from conventional social networks and involved in street-based illegal lifestyles focused on the acquisition of crack.…”

“…These findings have been used to modify the theory of sequential phases of crack patterns to distinguish two stages of progression: (1) from intranasal powder cocaine to crack use and (2) from experimentation with crack to dependence (Hatsukami & Fischman, 1996). The majority of crack studies in the U.S. and Western Europe have described a linear progression that results in frequent and prolonged crack use (Jackson-Jacobs, 2004; Ratner, 1993; Rosse et al, 1993; Wallace, 1989). Given these theoretical modifications, we posed the research question of whether the crack use patterns observed in the context of Mexico City would be similar or different when compared to those that emerged in the U.S. and Western Europe as documented by the literature and our prior research on Latino immigrant workers in the U.S. (Valdez, Cepeda, Negi, & Kaplan, 2010).…”

The Health Effect of Psychostimulants: A Literature Review

“…The incidence of insomnia, weight loss, paranoia or hallucination can be very high even in out of treatment cocaine users, up to 40% of them [101]. Behavioral concurrent effects can be agitation, tremor, dyskinesia and repetitive or stereotyped behaviors, as compulsive research of the substance [102]. Associated signs are tachycardia, dilated pupils, sudation and nausea.…”

The Bed Nucleus of the Stria Terminalis, Homeostatic Satiety, and Compulsions: What Can We Learn From Polydipsia?

“…Evidence to support a role for DA in OCD and other compulsive behaviors is reported. Notably, pharmacologically increasing DA neurotransmission with DA agonists exacerbates compulsivity traits and behaviors in both animal models (Szechtman et al, 1998) and susceptible humans (Frye and Arnold, 1981; Rosse et al, 1993; Kotsopoulos and Spivak, 2001). Evidence for modified synaptic DA activity (via dopamine transporter binding) in the striatum is also found in patients with OCD (van der Wee et al, 2004; Hesse et al, 2005).…”