Relatively strong automatic appetitive action‐tendencies in male carriers of the OPRM1 G‐allele

Abstract

This study investigated whether automatic approach action tendencies for alcohol-related stimuli were associated with variation in the mu-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1), previously related to rewarding effects of alcohol and craving. An adapted approach avoidance task was used, in which participants pulled or pushed a joystick in reaction to the format of a picture shown on the computer screen (e.g. pull landscape pictures and push portrait pictures). Picture size on the screen changed upon joystick movement, so that upon a pull movement picture size increased (creating a sense of approach) and upon a push movement picture size decreased (avoidance). Participants reacted to four categories of pictures: alcoholrelated, other appetitive, general positive and general negative. The sample consisted of 84 heavy drinking young men without a g-allele in the A118G (or A355G) single nucleotide polymorphism of the OPRM1 gene and 24 heavy drinking young men with at least one g-allele.Heavy drinking carriers of a g-allele showed relatively strong automatic approach tendencies for alcohol (approach bias). Unexpectedly, they also showed an approach bias for other appetitive stimuli. No approach bias was found for general positive or negative stimuli. These results suggest that automatic approach tendencies in response to appetitive stimuli could play a role in the etiology of addictive behaviors and related disorders. Further research is needed to investigate the specificity of this approach bias and possible gender differences.

On the predictive validity of automatically activated approach/avoidance tendencies in abstaining alcohol-dependent patients

“…Light drinkers, on the other hand, did not show such an effect. Similar findings were reported by several other researchers (e.g., Palfai and Ostafin, 2003;Ostafin and Palfai, 2006;Wiers et al, 2009). …”

“…Second, whereas explicit measures of alcohol problems failed to predict relapse, logistic regression analyses revealed a clear relationship between relapse and R-SRC performance: Relapse rates increased rather than decreased as alcohol patients were faster to avoid alcohol-related pictures compared to alcohol-unrelated pictures. Both observations are at odds with prior work showing that alcohol-related stimuli elicit approach tendencies rather than avoid tendencies (e.g., Palfai and Ostafin, 2003;Ostafin and Palfai, 2006;Wiers et al, 2009Wiers et al, , 2010. They are also at odds with the more general assumption that addiction is mediated or maintained by automatic approach tendencies towards alcohol (e.g., Deutsch and Strack, 2006;Robinson and Berridge, 1993;Stacy and Wiers, 2010;Tiffany, 1990;Wiers and Stacy, 2006).…”

“…It has also been demonstrated that substance-related stimuli can activate valence and arousal associations from memory in an automatic fashion (e.g., Houben et al, 2010;Wiers et al, 2002). Finally, there is also evidence showing that substance-related stimuli can trigger automatic approach/avoidance tendencies (e.g., Palfai and Ostafin, 2003;Ostafin and Palfai, 2006;Wiers et al, 2009). …”

Validation of the Amsterdam Beverage Picture Set: A Controlled Picture Set for Cognitive Bias Measurement and Modification Paradigms

“…A multitude of tasks exist to measure implicit processes in addiction (Field et al., 2004; Wiers et al., 2002, 2009), but relatively little research examined the pictures used in these paradigms. In this paper, we formulate some considerations for valid and effective beverage pictures in general and for CBM in particular.…”

Selectieve en geïndiceerde preventie van problematisch middelengebruik bij jongeren

“…Daarnaast zou toekomstig onderzoek zich kunnen richten op nieuwe interventie- Hoewel het onderzoek naar automatische cognitieve vertekeningen onder jongeren nog in de kinderschoenen staat, zijn er aanwijzingen dat deze processen ook een rol spelen bij (overmatig) alcoholgebruik onder adolescenten (Field, Christiansen, Cole, & Goudie, 2007;Wiers, Rinck, Dictus, & Van den Wildenberg, 2009;Zetteler, Stollery, Weinstein, & Lingford-Hughes, 2006). Recentelijk is een start gemaakt met het veranderen van deze automatische processen door middel van computerinterventies waarbij deelnemers getraind worden om hun aandacht van alcoholgerelateerde plaatjes af te wenden, of om alcoholgerelateerde stimuli van zich af te duwen met een joystick.…”