More pain, more gain: Blocking the opioid system boosts adaptive cognitive control.
The ability to adaptively increase cognitive control in response to cognitive challenges is crucial for goal-directed behavior. Recent findings suggest that aversive arousal triggers adaptive increases of control, but the neurochemical mechanisms underlying these effects remain unclear. Given the known contributions of the opioid system to hedonic states, we investigated whether blocking this system increases adaptive control modulations. To do so, we conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled psychopharmacological study (n=52 females) involving a Stroop-like task. Specifically, we assessed the effect of naltrexone, an opioid blocker most selective to the mu-opioid system, on two measures of adaptive control that are thought to depend differentially on aversive arousal: post-error slowing and conflict adaptation. Consistent with our hypothesis, relative to placebo, naltrexone increased post-error slowing without influencing conflict adaptation. This finding not only supports the view that aversive arousal triggers adaptive control but also reveals a novel role for the opioid system in modulating such effects.
Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, The Netherlands; Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, The Netherlands. Electronic address: HvanSteenbergen@fsw.leidenuniv.nl.
Henk
H
van Steenbergen
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, USA.
Daniel H
DH
Weissman
Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Groote Schuur Hospital, MRC Unit on Anxiety & Stress Disorders, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Dan J
DJ
Stein
Applied Cognitive Science and Experimental Neuropsychology Team, Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Susan
S
Malcolm-Smith
Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Groote Schuur Hospital, MRC Unit on Anxiety & Stress Disorders, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; Institute of Infectious Diseases and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Jack
J
van Honk
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000187:drug effects; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009271:Naltrexone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists / Q000494:pharmacology; D010146:Pain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D015990:Placebo Effect; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D009292:Narcotic Antagonists; D017450:Receptors, Opioid, mu; D009271:Naltrexone
Anterior cingulate; Cognitive control; Conflict adaptation; Mu-opioid system; Post-error slowing