Psychopharmacology: the relationship between oxytocin and cocaine addiction

January 17, 2020 / Biovalley BIOON / -- a group of addiction researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina (musc) pointed out in an article in the journal psychopharmacology that oxytocin is a hormone naturally produced in the hypothalamus When it is used to treat cocaine addicts with a history of childhood trauma, there is a significant gender difference The study was led by Dr Jane E Joseph, Professor of neuroscience, and Dr Kathleen T Brady, Professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences (image source: www Pixabay Com) oxytocin has been shown to have a therapeutic effect on addiction, reducing cravings that may lead to relapse, as well as reducing stress-related brain activity Although previous studies have shown that oxytocin has some potential therapeutic effects, it is not known how oxytocin affects cravings caused by cocaine use or whether there are gender based differences To understand the role of oxytocin in addiction, it is important to understand the possible changes of brain to environmental factors Traumatic events such as childhood trauma can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, which can change the neural connections in the brain Addiction may also lead to changes in brain connections, and areas of injury and addiction may overlap The amygdala is an area of the brain that undergoes these changes, rich in oxytocin receptors that respond to stress Although oxytocin has been shown to reduce amygdala activity in response to stress signals, little is known about how oxytocin affects cocaine craving in addicted individuals To test the desire response, the researchers asked 67 participants to look at images of drug paraphernalia and other mundane objects on an MRI Watching images of drug paraphernalia caused the amygdala of addicted men to "light up," linked to an increased craving for cocaine Participants were then treated with oxytocin or placebo, respectively, and the effect on the amygdala was measured In men with a history of trauma, the response was as expected Oxytocin reduces activity in the amygdala and the craving for cocaine, in line with previous studies that have shown its therapeutic effect Surprisingly, this does not apply to women with a history of trauma Although the amygdala of cocaine addicted men will become highly active in response to visual drug cues, the amygdala of cocaine addicted and traumatized women has little activity Historically, women who were addicted to cocaine had worse outcomes than men The study clearly points to the need to enrich brain changes caused by trauma, explore how they differ by gender and better understand how they affect addiction This also suggests that oxytocin alone may increase amygdala activity and craving in women with a history of childhood trauma, which may lead to a higher recurrence rate Sources of information: chemicals between us: Pricing effects of oxytocin on cocaine addition original sources: Jane E Joseph, Aimee McRae Clark, Brian J Sherman, Nathaniel L Baker, Megan Moran Santa Maria, Kathleen T Brady Neural correlates of oxytocin and cue reactivity in cocaine-dependent men and women with and without childhood trauma Psychopharmacology , 2019; DOI: 10.1007/s00213-019-05360-7