Cue reactivity
[5][6] Additionally, cue reactivity allows for the development of testable hypotheses grounded in established theories of human behavior.[4] Therefore, researchers have leveraged the cue reactivity paradigm to study addiction, antecedents of relapse, and craving, translate pre-clinical findings to clinical samples, and contribute to the development of new treatment methods.[6] Research has shown that cue reactivity is experienced among individuals dependent on a variety of substances including alcohol, nicotine, opiates, and cocaine.Psychophysiological responses commonly elicited by opiate cues include decreases peripheral temperature and skin resistance.[9] Of the limited research, audiovisual stimuli of drug sales and consumption commonly elicit significant reactivity.[19] Moreover, findings from a review of two functional brain imaging studies investigating the association of stress and drug-related cues and relapse, suggested that specific regions of the corticostriatal limbic circuitry involving stress- and drug cue- induced craving are associated with drug relapse.[21] Therefore, psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy that blunts cue reactivity in the laboratory should be a marker of treatment efficacy in the real-world.For instance, the participant is interacting (smelling, seeing) with a preferred alcohol drink while listening to a recording recounting past substance use.[25][26][27] The cue reactivity paradigm is a frequently used method within the addictions field because it allows for testing hypotheses regarding the additions process in a controlled laboratory setting and is grounded in theory.[6][28] Researchers have made efforts to make the cue reactivity paradigm more ecologically valid by having participants take digital pictures of their environments.[24] Another more commonly used methodology is ecological momentary assessment (EMA) which involves real-time data collection in the natural environment.[6] EMA methods allow for collection of real-time craving, mood, substance use, contextual information, which is not possible in a laboratory setting.These ecologically valid methods build on the classic cue reactivity paradigm and increase generalizability to the natural environment of those who use substances.[6] Moreover, treatments are often designed to mitigate craving and the cue reactivity paradigm allows for testing potential efficacy.[6][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37] For instance, Miranda and colleagues (2014) tested the effects of naltrexone, an opioid receptor antagonist, on adolescent alcohol cue reactivity.The study found that naltrexone blunted alcohol cue elicited craving in the laboratory and natural environment.[6] Repeated unreinforced exposure to stimuli that was previously associated with substance use is thought to extinguish or rid the conditioned response to the personally relevant cues.