Psychosocial and Cocaine craving induced stress transcriptomics analysis

Transcriptomic analysis for prediction of psychosocial and cocaine craving induced stress.
The effect of psychosocial and craving-induced stress on transcriptomics in cocaine users: a longitudinal approach  

Collaboration: Prof. Quednow, PUK

Duration: 2016-2023 (publications in progress)

It is assumed that an increased susceptibility to stress plays an important role in the development, preservation, and relapse of cocaine addiction. However, previous research applying laboratory stress paradigms to cocaine users exclusively investigated hormonal responses but so far neglected potential changes in the expression of stress-related genes. It is furthermore unclear how alterations of the stress axis and stress-related genes change over time and if these changes are e.g., reversible after prolonged abstinence. We therefore investigate the effects of psychosocial stress (Trier Social Stress Test, TSST) and drug craving-related stress on peripheral expression of stress-related genes (levels of mRNA in blood) in regular cocaine users and matched healthy controls at baseline and at a 4-months follow-up. We expect to find broad changes in the expression of stress-related genes in cocaine users, which are malleable over time depending on changes of cocaine consumption.

Project link: https://data.snf.ch/grants/grant/162639

Contact Person
Prof. Dr. Edna Grünblatt
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy,
Psychiatric Hospital University of Zürich
edna.gruenblatt@kjpd.uzh.ch

Collaboration
Prof. Boris Quednow; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics
University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich (PUK)
 quednow@bli.uzh.ch