The effect of N-acetylcysteine and working memory training on neural mechanisms of working memory and cue reactivity in regular cocaine users

Mieke H J Schulte*, Anne Marije Kaag, Wouter J Boendermaker, Wim van den Brink, Anna E Goudriaan, Reinout W Wiers

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

The current study investigated the combined effects of N-acetylcysteine and working memory (WM) training on behavioral and neural mechanisms of cue reactivity and WM in cocaine users in a randomized, double-blind design. Twenty-four of 38 cocaine-using men completed a 25-day treatment with either 2400 mg/day NAC or placebo. Both groups performed WM-training. During pre- and post-test lab-visits, neural mechanisms of cue reactivity and WM, and cue-induced craving and WM performance were assessed. Additionally, exploratory whole brain analyses were performed. Overall, the hypotheses were not confirmed, possibly due to small sample size, low WM-training adherence and/or ongoing substance use.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)56-59
Number of pages4
JournalPsychiatry Research - Neuroimaging
Volume287
Early online date5 Apr 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 May 2019

Funding

The authors would like to thank Denise S. van Deursen of the Psychology department of the University of Amsterdam and Prof. dr. Malte Friese of the Psychology department of the Saarland University for designing the visuo-spatial WM-task that was used in the WM-training of the current study. Funding for this study was provided by grant 022.003.038 from NWO ( Dutch National Science Foundation) , awarded to the Dutch-Flemish Research School Experimental Psychopathology.

FundersFunder number
Dutch-Flemish Research School Experimental Psychopathology
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek022.003.038

    Keywords

    • Acetylcysteine/pharmacology
    • Brain/drug effects
    • Cocaine/adverse effects
    • Cocaine-Related Disorders/physiopathology
    • Cognition
    • Cues
    • Double-Blind Method
    • Humans
    • Male
    • Memory, Short-Term

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