Perl E, Shufman E, Vas A, Luger S, Steiner J E
Talbieh Mental Health Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
Isr J Psychiatry Relat Sci. 1997;34(4):290-9.
Opiates in general, and heroin in particular, are known to induce compulsive drug-seeking and drug-taking behavior. Addiction is accompanied by psychobiological processes which may distort perception of sensory stimuli. Gustatory and olfactory stimuli are hedonically polarized and therefore most appropriate for the assessment of the organism's reactivity to "useful" and "harmful" chemosensory events. Previous studies revealed that psychophysical self-estimates and reflectory facial expressions mirror with comparable reliability the hedonics of the perceived taste and odor sensations. In the present study both cognitive verbal and reflectory facial expressions of a group of: a) heroin addicts were recorded and compared to those of a group of b) detoxified former addicts and to c) a group of matching controls. Results show that all three groups differentiate between pleasant, indifferent and aversive tastes and odors. Active addicts estimated sweet taste and savory smells as being somewhat more pleasant, and bitter and sour tastes and a putrid odor as less unpleasant than did the other two groups. The reflectory facial displays of addicts were less expressive and discriminative than those of the two other groups. Taste- and odor-induced facial displays are known to be controlled primarily by the brainstem. The findings indicate that heroin-addiction affects brain-mechanisms, which mirror taste- and odor-hedonics. Modulation of the phylogenetically ancient, sensory-motor coordinations was found to be of a different pattern than that of the cortically-controlled cognitive reactions.
一般而言，阿片类药物，尤其是海洛因，已知会引发强迫性觅药和用药行为。成瘾伴随着心理生物学过程，这些过程可能会扭曲对感觉刺激的感知。味觉和嗅觉刺激在享乐主义上是两极分化的，因此最适合评估生物体对“有益”和“有害”化学感觉事件的反应。先前的研究表明，心理物理自我评估和反射性面部表情以相当的可靠性反映了所感知的味觉和嗅觉的享乐主义。在本研究中，记录了一组：a）海洛因成瘾者的认知性言语和反射性面部表情，并与一组b）已戒毒的前成瘾者以及c）一组匹配的对照组进行比较。结果表明，所有三组都能区分愉快、 indifferent和厌恶的味道和气味。与其他两组相比，活跃成瘾者估计甜味和美味的气味更令人愉快，而苦味、酸味和腐臭味则不那么令人不快。成瘾者的反射性面部表现比其他两组的表现力和辨别力要弱。已知味觉和嗅觉诱发的面部表现主要受脑干控制。研究结果表明，海洛因成瘾会影响反映味觉和嗅觉享乐主义的脑机制。发现系统发育上古老的感觉运动协调的调节模式与皮质控制的认知反应的调节模式不同。
