Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Price, Kimber L.
• Baker, Nathaniel L.
• McRae-Clark, Aimee L.
• Saladin, Michael E.
• DeSantis, Stacia M.
• Santa Ana, Elizabeth J.
• Brady, Kathleen T.

Titel

A randomized, placebo-controlled laboratory study of the effects of d-cycloserine on craving in cocaine-dependent individuals

Ist Teil von

• Psychopharmacology, 2013-04, Vol.226 (4), p.739-746

Ort / Verlag

Berlin/Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag

Erscheinungsjahr

2013

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Rationale d -Cycloserine (DCS), a partial glutamate N -methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA) receptor agonist, enhances extinction of conditioned fear responding; preliminary data suggest that it may facilitate extinction of drug cue reactivity. Objective This study investigates DCS effects on cocaine cue craving and drug use in cocaine-dependent subjects. Methods Thirty-two subjects were randomly assigned to receive (1) DCS only, (2) DCS before sessions 1 and 3, placebo (PBO) before session 2, or (3) PBO only 15-min before each of 3 1-h cocaine cue exposure sessions conducted 1 day apart. Craving ratings were obtained before, during, and after sessions. Drug use and cue-induced craving were assessed 1 week after the last cue session. Results Repeated presentation of cocaine cues resulted in decreased craving both within and between sessions. DCS did not facilitate extinction learning and may have enhanced craving. The group that received three doses of DCS had significantly higher craving than the PBO group at the baseline ratings taken before sessions 2 and 3, as well as significantly higher cue-induced craving at follow-up. The group that received two doses of DCS did not differ from the PBO group. There were no group differences in postextinction cocaine use. Conclusions The reduction of cocaine cue reactivity in the PBO group suggests that the study procedures were sufficient to produce extinction. Under these conditions, DCS did not facilitate extinction and may have enhanced craving. Further studies of glutamatergic agents and extinction in cocaine dependence should include consideration of procedural variables that could have a major impact on study outcomes.