title: Abstinence reverses EEG-indexed attention bias between drug-related and pleasant stimuli in cocaine-addicted individuals.
abstract: Increased attention bias toward drug-related cues over non-drug-related intrinsically pleasant reinforcers is a hallmark of drug addiction. In this study we used the late positive potential (LPP) to investigate whether such increased attention bias toward drug-related relative to non-drug-related cues changes over a protracted period of reduced drug use in treatment-seeking individuals with a cocaine use disorder (CUD).
  
  
  
  Treatment-seeking individuals with CUD and matched healthy controls passively viewed a series of pleasant, neutral and drug-related pictures while their event-related potentials were recorded at baseline (≤ 3 weeks after treatment initiation) and at 6-month follow-up (only CUD).
  
  
  
  We included 19 treatment-seeking individuals with CUD and 18 matched controls in our analyses. The results showed a reversal in attention bias (i.e., LPP amplitude) from baseline (i.e., drug > pleasant) to follow-up (i.e., pleasant > drug) driven by an increased attentional engagement with pleasant pictures; this LPP reversal was paralleled by a concomitant reduction in self-reported wanting and craving for cocaine in the CUD group. Furthermore, reduced attention bias toward drug-related cues (relative to pleasant cues) was correlated with longer duration of abstinence at baseline, and the extent of its longitudinal reversal was correlated with decreased craving at follow-up, providing support for abstinence as a putative mechanism of this bottom-up attentional change.
  
  
  
  A limited sample size and the use of the same set of pictures at baseline and follow-up were the major limitations of this study.
  
  
  
  Results collectively indicate that, by tracking with drug abstinence, LPP in response to drug-related relative to pleasant cues may serve as an indicator of clinical progress in treatment-seeking individuals with CUD.
authors.affiliation: From the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA (Parvaz, Moeller, Malaker, Alia-Klein, Goldstein); and Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., USA (Sinha).
authors.forename: Muhammad A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Parvaz
authors.affiliation: From the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA (Parvaz, Moeller, Malaker, Alia-Klein, Goldstein); and Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., USA (Sinha).
authors.forename: Scott J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Moeller
authors.affiliation: From the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA (Parvaz, Moeller, Malaker, Alia-Klein, Goldstein); and Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., USA (Sinha).
authors.forename: Pias
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Malaker
authors.affiliation: From the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA (Parvaz, Moeller, Malaker, Alia-Klein, Goldstein); and Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., USA (Sinha).
authors.forename: Rajita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.affiliation: From the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA (Parvaz, Moeller, Malaker, Alia-Klein, Goldstein); and Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., USA (Sinha).
authors.forename: Nelly
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Alia-Klein
authors.affiliation: From the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA (Parvaz, Moeller, Malaker, Alia-Klein, Goldstein); and Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., USA (Sinha).
authors.forename: Rita Z
authors.initials: RZ
authors.lastname: Goldstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D066249:Craving / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D057566:Self Report; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology