title: Citicoline Treatment Improves Measures of Impulsivity and Task Performance in Chronic Marijuana Smokers: A Pilot BOLD fMRI Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Citicoline is an endogenous nucleotide that has historically been used to treat stroke, traumatic brain injury, and cognitive dysfunction. Research has also shown that citicoline treatment is associated with improved cognitive performance in substance-abusing populations. We hypothesized that marijuana (MJ) smokers who received citicoline would demonstrate improvement in cognitive performance as well as increased neural efficiency during tasks of cognitive control relative to those who received placebo.
  
  
  METHODS
  The current study tested this hypothesis by examining the effects of citicoline in treatment-seeking chronic MJ smokers. In an 8-week double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 19 MJ smokers were randomly assigned via a double-blind procedure to the citicoline (8 Males, 2 Females) or placebo group (9 Males, 0 Females). All participants completed fMRI scanning at baseline and after 8 weeks of treatment during two cognitive measures of inhibitory processing, the Multi Source Interference Test (MSIT) and Stroop Color Word Test, and also completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), a self-report measure of impulsivity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Following the 8 week trial, MJ smokers treated with citicoline demonstrated significantly lower levels of behavioral impulsivity, improved task accuracy on both the MSIT and Stroop tasks, and exhibited significantly different patterns of brain activation relative to baseline levels and relative to those who received placebo.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings suggest that citicoline may facilitate the treatment of MJ use disorders by improving the cognitive skills necessary to fully engage in comprehensive treatment programs.
authors.affiliation: Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Core, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA ; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Staci A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Gruber
authors.affiliation: Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Core, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Kelly A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Sagar
authors.affiliation: Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Core, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Mary Kathryn
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Dahlgren
authors.affiliation: Cognitive and Clinical Neuroimaging Core, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA ; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Atilla
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gonenç
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Pharmacology Research Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Nina A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Conn
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Pharmacology Research Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Winer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA ; Behavioral Pharmacology Research Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Penetar
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA ; Behavioral Pharmacology Research Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Scott E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Lukas
keywords: Citicoline; Executive function; Impulsivity; Marijuana; Stroop Color Word Test; fMRI