Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2012 Jul 1;124(1-2):113-20. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2011.12.022. Epub 2012 Jan 20.
Personality traits such as impulsivity and sensation seeking may contribute to the initiation and maintenance of illicit drug use. Since studies have reported higher impulsivity and sensation seeking traits in cocaine dependent subjects, we were interested in determining whether former heroin addicts in methadone pharmacotherapy with comorbid cocaine addiction have greater impulsivity than those without.
Instruments to assess impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale version 11) and sensation seeking (Sensation Seeking Scale version V) were administered to former severe heroin addicts meeting Federal criteria for methadone maintenance pharmacotherapy with (n = 71) or without cocaine dependence (n = 31) and to 145 normal healthy (non-methadone-maintained) volunteers.
The methadone-maintained without cocaine dependence and the methadone-maintained with cocaine dependence groups, both scored higher than did the normal volunteer group on the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale total score (p<0.001). On the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale Attentional, Nonplanning, and Motor subscales, the methadone-maintained and methadone-maintained with cocaine dependence groups scored higher than did normal volunteers with no history of drug abuse or dependence (p<0.001). There was no difference among groups on total score or any subscale of the Sensation Seeking Scale. However, males in all groups overall scored higher than did females on Disinhibition and Thrill and Adventure seeking subscales of the Sensation Seeking Scale version V (p<0.001).
This study demonstrates higher impulsivity in former severe heroin addicts meeting criteria for or currently in stable methadone maintenance pharmacotherapy, irrespective of a positive or negative history of cocaine dependence.
个性特征，如冲动性和寻求刺激，可能导致非法药物使用的开始和维持。由于研究报告称可卡因依赖者的冲动性和寻求刺激特质较高，我们有兴趣确定在美沙酮药物治疗中伴有可卡因成瘾的前海洛因成瘾者是否比没有可卡因成瘾的患者具有更高的冲动性。
我们对符合美沙酮维持药物治疗联邦标准的前严重海洛因成瘾者（n=71）或无可卡因依赖的前严重海洛因成瘾者（n=31）以及 145 名正常健康（未接受美沙酮维持）志愿者进行了冲动性（Barratt 冲动性量表第 11 版）和寻求刺激（感觉寻求量表第 V 版）评估工具的评估。
与正常志愿者组相比，美沙酮维持治疗且无可卡因依赖组和美沙酮维持治疗且有可卡因依赖组的巴雷特冲动量表总分均较高（p<0.001）。在巴雷特冲动量表的注意、非计划和运动分量表上，美沙酮维持治疗和有可卡因依赖的美沙酮维持治疗组的得分均高于无药物滥用或依赖史的正常志愿者（p<0.001）。在感觉寻求量表的总分或任何分量表上，各组之间均无差异。然而，所有组的男性在感觉寻求量表的去抑制和寻求刺激和冒险分量表上的得分均高于女性（p<0.001）。
这项研究表明，符合美沙酮维持药物治疗标准或目前正在接受稳定美沙酮维持药物治疗的前严重海洛因成瘾者表现出更高的冲动性，无论其是否有可卡因依赖的阳性或阴性病史。
