Abstract:
Opiate Use Disorder (OUD) is an increasingly prevalent disorder in the United States as
more individuals begin using opiates and experience addiction. A major hallmark of OUD
include progressive erosion of social ties as an addicted individual’s life is hijacked by
obtaining, using, and recovering from drug use despite and without regards to disadvantageous
consequences. There are multiple factors that account for the development of addiction,
such as genetic and biological variables; therefore, the development of OUD is rather
complex. Multiple therapeutic modalities, including pharmaceutical and psychological
treatments, along with various rehabilitation programs, have been developed to tackle the
growing opioid epidemic. Diagnostic imaging has emerged as a potential method to engage
in risk assessment and evaluate and predict which individuals would be most prone to the
development of OUD, so that proper actions and interventions can be implemented to reduce
such risk. Particularly, positron emission tomography (PET) and function magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have the potential to visualize the changes in the human brain
in relation to opiate addiction. Existing literature on Substance Use Disorder (SUD) have
utilized task-based neuroimaging techniques to investigate the molecular underpinnings of
addiction, but comparative studies on neural activation towards drug cues versus social
attachment cues has yet to be examined. The identified knowledge gap focuses on using
technological methodologies such as fMRI as a means of predicting which treatment modalities
could be the most efficacious; identifying a potential biomarker encapsulating the
shift in saliency in addicted individuals to: refine existing treatment for addiction; bridge
existing gaps of knowledge in neuroscientific approaches to addiction; and improve future
clinical and translational addiction research.
