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Apomorphine Helps Improve Cognitive Inhibition in Alcohol-Dependent Patients: Presented at ECNP By Paula Moyer VIENNA, AUSTRIA -- October 19, 2007 -- Alcohol-dependent patients who are taking a cognitive inhibition test perform better when they receive the dopamine agonist apomorphine, while healthy controls experience a post-treatment deterioration in performance, researchers reported here at the 20th European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Congress. "This difference [in alcohol-dependent subjects] may reflect brain damage due to excessive alcohol use," said principal investigator Arnt F.A. Scheliekens, MD, Consulting Psychiatrist, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. "This finding fits in with the hypothesis of altered central [dopamine agonist] function in alcohol-dependent patients." Dr. Scheliekens and colleagues conducted the study to understand the role of the central dopamine system in the development of substance dependence, and to elucidate dopamine agonist receptor sensitivity in the mesocortical pathways in alcohol dependence. The researchers recruited 14 men who were diagnosed with alcohol dependence according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - Edition IV, who had previously applied for clinical detoxification, and who had abstained from alcohol for 3 months. The 15 healthy controls had no history or family history of alcohol dependence and were recruited through advertisements. During the study, subjects were not allowed to take any medications with dopaminergic activity, such as methylphenidate, antipsychotics, opiates, or agents that influence task performance, such as benzodiazepines and barbiturates. Participants took the AX Continuous Performance Test (AX-CPT) before and after receiving 0.005 mg/kg of apomorphine. The AX-CPT was used to measure subjects' reaction time and error rates. Results show that at baseline the reaction time was longer in alcohol-dependent patients than in controls, with a mean of 422 minutes in alcohol-dependent subjects and 380 minutes in controls (P =.03). When test performance was evaluated 40 minutes after subjects received apomorphine, the mean reaction times were 392 minutes in alcohol-dependent subjects and 417 minutes in controls. Further, alcohol-dependent subjects had an 8% error rate at baseline compared with 2.7% for controls (P =.03). Forty minutes after taking apomorphine, the error rate decreased to 7.3% in alcohol-dependent subjects, while it increased to 6.4% in healthy controls (P =.04). This finding shows that alcohol-dependent individuals and healthy people may have different responses to apomorphine, Dr. Scheliekens said during his presentation on October 14. [Presentation title: Effect of Apomorphine on Cognitive Inhibition in Alcohol Dependent Patients and Healthy Controls. Abstract P.6.a.014] E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version