The BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism Moderates the Relationship Between Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Trauma Script-evoked Attentional Bias to Cocaine Cues Among Patients with Cocaine Dependence. (May 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bardeen, Joseph R.; Daniel, Thomas A.; Gratz, Kim L.; Vallender, Eric J.; Garrett, Michael R.; Tull, Matthew T.
• Is Part Of: Journal of anxiety disorders. Volume 72(2020:May)
• Publication Date: 2020-05
• Subjects: attentional bias -- attention bias variability -- posttraumatic stress disorder -- substance use disorder -- cocaine -- BDNF -- brain derived neurotrophic factor; Anxiety -- Periodicals; Anxiety Disorders -- Periodicals; Angoisse -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 616.8522
• DOI: 10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102223
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0887-6185

Abstract

Highlights: Examined brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as moderator of PTSD-cocaine bias relation PTSD patients with BDNF Val/Val genotype exhibited greater attentional bias to cocaine stimuli This bias was greater following exposure to a personalized trauma script Cocaine dependent PTSD patients with Val/Val genotype may be at risk for negative outcomes Abstract: There is extensive variability in cocaine-related attentional bias (AB) following trauma script exposure among cocaine-dependent (CD) patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Therefore, research is needed to identify the specific PTSD-CD patients most likely to exhibit an AB to cocaine cues. A common polymorphism in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), Val66met, is associated with risk for stimulant addiction, and thus, was examined as a moderator of the association between PTSD and cocaine-related AB following trauma script exposure in this study. Adult CD patients with ( n = 17) and without ( n = 28) PTSD were exposed to a personalized trauma script, followed by a visual dot-probe task assessing cocaine-related AB. Task response times were used to examine traditionally calculated AB scores, as well as trial level bias scores (TL-BS) that more accurately model the temporal dynamics of AB. PTSD-CD patients homozygous for the BDNF Val/Val genotype exhibited greater bias for attending to cocaine-related stimuli following trauma script exposure than those carrying the Met allele. The PTSD by BDNF interaction did not predict response time variability on trials for which only neutral stimuli were presented, thus increasing confidence that the observed effect is specific to cocaine-related stimuli. PTSD-CD patients homozygous for the BDNF Val/Val genotype may be at particularly high risk for negative clinical outcomes (e.g., relapse, treatment dropout) as a function of prolonged attentional engagement with cocaine cues when exposed to trauma reminders.