Individual differences among cocaine users
by
Gunnarsdottir ED, Pingitore RA, Spring BJ,
Konopka LM, Crayton JW, Milo T, Shirazi P
Finch University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School, IL, USA.
Addict Behav 2000 Sep-Oct; 25(5):641-52

ABSTRACT

The present study examined whether individual differences in personality could differentiate two types of cocaine users. We hypothesized that self-medicators (SM) use cocaine as a way to alleviate their dysphoric moods, whereas sensation seekers (SS), in contrast, use cocaine primarily to engender positive mood states. Eighteen male cocaine users were classified based on two dimensions of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. SM were defined by having high harm avoidance (>17) and low novelty-seeking scores (<18), and SS by high novelty-seeking (>18) and low harm-avoidance scores (<17). It was predicted that SM would report higher depression and anxiety than would SS, and would also exhibit a brain activity pattern similar to that found in clinical depression. The results showed that SM reported higher anxiety than SS, F(1, 8) = 27.5, p < .001, but did not differ in depression. SM exhibited decreased blood flow within the left frontal lobes, F(1, 10) = 6.78, p < .05, similar to what has been observed in major depressive disorder. These findings suggest the importance of attending to individual differences in the motivation for cocaine use so that treatment can be targeted more effectively.

History
Quails on coke
Pigeons on coke
Crack and crime
Drug education?
Prenatal cocaine
Dopaminergic flies?
Dopaminergic agents
Coca leaves/cocaine
Cocaine immunization
The coke-craving brain
The Imperial Whizzball?
Cocaine and methylphenidate

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

MORE
HedWeb
cannabis-marijuana.com
Future Opioids
BLTC Research
Wirehead Hedonism
Paradise-Engineering
Utopian Pharmacology
The Hedonistic Imperative
When Is It Best to Take Crack Cocaine?

The Good Drug Guide
The Responsible Parent's Guide To
Healthy Mood Boosters For All The Family