Drug-related cues exacerbate decision making and increase craving in heroin addicts at different abstinence times.
BACKGROUND
Relapse is a persistent problem in the management of addiction. Drug-related cues are powerful instigators of relapse. Impulsive decision making may contribute to relapse through a poorly considered assessment of the consequences of drug use. Drug cues robustly increase subjective craving, which is frequently associated with relapse.


OBJECTIVE
The present study explored the effects of drug-related cues on decision making and craving in heroin addicts at different abstinence times: 1, 3, 12, and 24 months.


METHODS
The 75 male participants were given 5 min exposure to neutral and drug-associated cues while decision making performance, craving, blood pressure, heart rate, and emotional state pre- and post-exposure were assessed. The Iowa Gambling Task was used to evaluate decision making ability in heroin addicts.


RESULTS
Drug-related cues exacerbated impulsive decision making and increased craving, heart rate, and systolic pressure in heroin addicts at all abstinence times.


CONCLUSIONS
Drug-related cues aggravated decision making and increased craving in former heroin addicts who had been drug-free for 1-24 months, which might have significant clinical implications for the prevention of relapse.
National Institute on Drug Dependence, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, China.
Gui-Bin
GB
Wang
Xiao-Li
XL
Zhang
Li-Yan
LY
Zhao
Li-Li
LL
Sun
Ping
P
Wu
Lin
L
Lu
Jie
J
Shi
D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D003657:Decision Making; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055502:Secondary Prevention; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult