Abstract
Background: Cocaine dependence follows a different disease course in men and women, possibly as a consequence of sex-specific neurobiologic responses to chronic cocaine use. We have previously reported that male cocaine-dependent subjects demonstrate a significantly different limbic response to the limbic-stimulus procaine, as measured by regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), compared with male controls. In this study, we assessed the limbic rCBF response to procaine in female cocaine-addicted subjects (n=10) and female controls (n=10). Methods: Subjects were administered 1.38 mg/kg procaine or saline intravenously in two separate sessions. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) was used to compare the rCBF response to procaine. Results: Female cocaine-dependent subjects demonstrate a markedly muted, and distinctly different, limbic response to procaine compared with matched healthy controls. Conclusions: The rCBF response to procaine in female cocaine-dependent subjects suggests significant CNS differences compared with non-addicted female controls. Coupled with findings previously observed in male cocaine-dependent subjects, these biologic differences suggest that both male and female subjects experience alterations in limbic responsiveness following the chronic use of cocaine.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 255-268 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Drug and Alcohol Dependence |
Volume | 71 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 10 2003 |
Keywords
- Cocaine
- Imaging
- Limbic system
- Procaine
- Single-photon tomography
- Women
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Toxicology
- Pharmacology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Pharmacology (medical)