Neural correlates of oxytocin and cue reactivity in cocaine-dependent men and women with and without childhood trauma

by | Addiction

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00213-019-05360-7

Comment; Men with a childhood history of trauma had reduced amygdala cocaine induced cue behavior after 40 IU of intranasal Oxytocin, women with a history of childhood trauma did not have this response at this dose. Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex response was present in both men and women had a reduced response to cocaine cues after Oxytocin administration.

Psychopharmacology (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Rationale

Women with cocaine use disorder have worse treatment outcomes compared with men. Sex differences in cocaine addiction may be driven by differences in neurobiology or stress reactivity. Oxytocin is a potential therapeutic for stress reduction in substance use disorders, but no studies have examined the effect of oxytocin on neural response to drug cues in individuals with cocaine use disorders or potential sex differences in this response.

Objectives

The goal of this study was to examine the effect of intranasal oxytocin on cocaine cue reactivity in cocaine dependence, modulated by gender and history of childhood trauma.

Methods

Cocaine-dependent men with (n = 24) or without (n = 19) a history of childhood trauma and cocaine-dependent women with (n = 16) or without (n = 8) a history of childhood trauma completed an fMRI cocaine cue reactivity task under intranasal placebo or oxytocin (40 IU) on two different days. fMRI response was measured in the right amygdala and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC).

Results

In the DMPFC, oxytocin reduced fMRI response to cocaine cues across all subject groups. However, in the amygdala, only men with a history of childhood trauma showed a significantly reduced fMRI response to cocaine cues on oxytocin versus placebo, while women with a history of childhood trauma showed an enhanced amygdala response to cocaine cues following oxytocin administration. Cocaine-dependent subjects with no history of childhood trauma showed no effect of oxytocin on amygdala response.

Conclusions

Oxytocin can reduce cue reactivity in cocaine dependence, but its effect is modified by sex and childhood trauma history. Whereas men with cocaine dependence may benefit from oxytocin administration, additional studies are needed to determine whether oxytocin can be an effective therapeutic for cocaine-dependent women.

Dr. Raymond Oenbrink
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