© DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
During an emotionally salient task, fMRI scans of cocaine-addicted individuals (bottom) showed stronger deactivation in the anterior cingulate cortex compared with scans of healthy controls (top). This deactivation suggests that this region may have been trying to "tune out" emotional stimuli, such as craving.
During an emotionally salient task, fMRI scans of cocaine-addicted individuals (bottom) showed stronger deactivation in the anterior cingulate cortex compared with scans of healthy controls (top). This deactivation suggests that this region may have been trying to "tune out" emotional stimuli, such as craving.
"Many studies have found decreased brain activity in drug-addicted individuals relative to healthy control subjects during psychological tests," said lead author Rita Goldstein, a psychologist at Brookhaven Lab. "But it's never been clear if these differences were due to varying levels of interest or ability between the two groups. This is the first study to look at two groups matched for performance and interest - and we still see dramatic differences in the brain regions that play a very significant role in the ability to monitor behavior and regulate emotion, which are both important to resisting drug use.
