Attentional bias towards cocaine-related stimuli: relationship to treatment-seeking for cocaine dependence.
BACKGROUND
Cocaine-dependent individuals demonstrate attentional bias when measured by Stroop color-naming tasks that have been modified to include cocaine-related words. However, the relationship between attentional bias and the treatment-seeking status of cocaine-dependent individuals has never been explored. The purpose of this study was to compare attentional bias towards cocaine-related verbal stimuli between treatment-seeking and nontreatment-seeking cocaine abusers.


METHODS
We examined performance on a Stroop task modified to include drug-related words in 17 cocaine-dependent treatment-seeking male participants and 20 cocaine-dependent nontreatment-seeking male participants.


RESULTS
Although treatment seekers reported less experience with cocaine than nontreatment seekers, they exhibited increased response latency and made more errors when identifying the colors of cocaine-related words, relative to neutral words (p<.05), whereas nontreatment seekers did not.


CONCLUSIONS
Factors other than a high frequency of cocaine use may contribute to the difference in attentional bias towards cocaine cues between these subgroups of cocaine users.
Vadhan
Nehal P
NP
Division on Substance Abuse, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University New York, New York 10032, USA. npv2101@columbia.edu
Carpenter
Kenneth M
KM
Copersino
Marc L
ML
Hart
Carl L
CL
Foltin
Richard W
RW
Nunes
Edward V
EV
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D003042:Cocaine; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D003118:Color Perception / Q000502:physiology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003463:Cues; D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted; D017831:Diagnosis, Dual (Psychiatry); D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019964:Mood Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time; D014705:Verbal Behavior
D003042:Cocaine