Li

• aim

  to investigate if PCC is activated when given drug related cues
• sample

  • 14 male heroin users
  • in detoxifying stage in rehab centre
  • mean age of 35 years

  control group

  • 15 males matched to sample on handedness, age & education
  • all smokers, no head trauma
• procedure

  • scan 1 = structural scan to identify different brain areas
  • scan 2 = 5 min rest fMRI
  • scan 3 = fMRI lasted 490 seconds, 48 pictures, half neutral other half heroin related
  • before and after presentation ppts asked to complete self-report to assess cravings
• results

  • heroin users scored higher on cravings scale ( 3.21 ) compared to controls (2.23)
  • PCC more activated in heroin users than control when shown images
• conclusion

  • PCC activity in heroin users is different in non-users & activity levels are linked to length of time a person used heroin for suggesting its causing brain to change overtime
• one improvement

  • change quantitative data from 0-10 cravings scale
  • allow for qual data , ask what caused craving and how it made them feel with interviews
  • gather more in-depth analysis and more data for why heroin users have cravings when shown images, INC VAL/ACCURACY of results un drug cravings
• evaluation points

  + high in population validity ( 14 male heroin users and males more likely to use heroin )

  + quantitative data

  -restricted male sample

  -using correlations doesn't establish cause and effect