Investigation of Cocaine Addiction Using mGluR5 PET and fMRI

Interviews, questionnaires, and computer testing.

The intervention will include a training and safety session that consists of physician/nurse-administered cocaine followed by a self-regulated cocaine administration period under carefully controlled and closely monitored conditions.

PET scans will be performed on a High Resolution Research Tomograph (HRRT), the highest resolution human brain scanner available. Antecubital venous catheters will be used for IV administration of the radiotracer and for venous blood sampling. A radial artery catheter may also be inserted by an experienced physician before the PET scan. At the beginning of each scan, the participants's head will be immobilized and a 6-minute transmission scan, using an orbiting 137Cs point-source, is obtained and used for attenuation correction. PET scans will be acquired using bolus or bolus plus constant infusion administration of \[18F\]FPEB.

Structural and functional MRI data will be acquired using a Siemens Trio TIM 3.0T system at the Yale Magnetic Resonance Research Center. High-resolution structural MRI data will be acquired to facilitate analysis of PET data and may be used in additional analysis of tissue volume and brain structure. Resting-state and task-based functional MRI data will be acquired using state-of-the-art multiband echo-planar imaging (EPI) gradient-echo sequences. Diffusion-weighted MRI data will also be acquired using multiband imaging sequences to investigate anatomical connectivity.