Aberrant Synaptic Plasticity in Cocaine Use Disorder: A 11C-UCB-J PET Study

Aberrant Synaptic Plasticity in Cocaine Use Disorder: A 11C-UCB-J PET Study

The purpose of this research study is to measure synaptic density in the brain comparing individuals with cocaine use disorder to healthy controls.

Healthy controls (HC) will be studied as outpatients and undergo one MRI and one 11C-UCB-J PET scan, along with neurocognitive tasks. Individuals with Cocaine Use Disorder (CUD) will complete the study as inpatients on our unit and undergo one MRI and two 11C-UCB-J PET scans, along with neurocognitive tasks. Participants will complete sleep studies (to evaluate sleep architecture); the first two nights after admission and the last two nights before discharge. Cocaine users will be asked to complete outpatient follow-ups twice a week for up to nine weeks following their inpatient stay.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 21-60 years
• Physically healthy by medical history, physical, neurological, ECG and laboratory examinations
• For females, a negative serum pregnancy test
• For CUD: DSM-5 criteria for Cocaine Use Disorder and positive urine toxicology showing recent use
• For HC: Negative urine toxicology

Exclusion Criteria:

• DSM-5 criteria for other substance use disorders (e.g., alcohol, opiates, sedative hypnotics), except for nicotine
• A primary DSM-5 Axis I major psychiatric disorder (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, etc.) as determined by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5)
• A history of significant and/or uncontrolled medical or neurological illness
• Current use of psychotropic and/or potentially psychoactive prescription medications
• Medical contraindications to MRI procedure