Romach 1999 "Cocaine"

Question 1

my study for

Answer 1

• antagonists

Question 2

antagonist

Answer 2

a substance that inhibits the action of another substance

the dopamine antagonists are dopamine receptor blockers

Question 3

aim

Answer 3

To investigate the role of a dopamine antagonist (ecopipam), in the treatment of cocaine addiction.

Question 4

partcicipants

Answer 4

A self-selecting sample of 15 participants (3 women, 12 men, aged 26-44 years with a mean age = 34 years) who were cocaine addicts (diagnosed with cocaine depandence)

Question 5

procedure

Answer 5

The 15 partcicipants were hospitalised for 2 weeks,, during which they were given either a placebo or a dose of ecopipam (either 10mg 25mg or 100mg) (DOPAMINE ANTAGONIST) (RANDOMISED AND DOUBLE BLIND METHOD)

i 2 hours after being given the drug they each got a dose of cocaine

The participants were assessed for the subjective (individual) effects of having taken cocaine e.g. biological measures such as blood pressure and heart rate and psychological measures, e.g. feelings of being ‘high’ or feelings of anxiety, confusion, feeling the effect of the drug etc.

They also asked them about how strong their desire to take cocaine was

Question 6

results

Answer 6

the ecopipam reduced the euphoric feeling of cocaine and being high

The ecopipam also appeared to reduce the anxiety associated with taking cocaine e.g. withdrawal,

most importantly, however, their desire to take more cocaine was surpassed

Question 7

conclusion

Answer 7

Some drugs such as ecopipam may function as dopamine antagonists and may be effective in reducing the craving for cocaine as well as the effects of taking cocaine.

Question 8

weaknesses

Answer 8

• Self-reported data is prone to social desirability bias e.g. the participants may have reported reduced feelings of craving to please the researchers or to project a more positive image of themselves and their recovery from drug addiction (ale still this is reduced by the double blind method)
• the study does not tell us what happened to the addicts after they left the safe controlled environment, they may have relapsed quickly i chuj dupa nic z tego nie wyszlo no long term effects

Question 9

strengths

Answer 9

• high internal validity (the use of several different measures e.g. heart-rate, self-reported anxiety means that the study used triangulation which increases the validity of the findings)
• This study has useful application as the findings could be used to inform further treatment of cocaine addicts, and possibly those addicted to other substances such as alcohol