Skip to main content

Main menu

  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Collections
    • Podcast
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
    • Information for Authors
    • Fees
    • Journal Clubs
    • eLetters
    • Submit
    • Special Collections
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
    • Editorial Board
    • ECR Advisory Board
    • Journal Staff
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Advertise
    • For the Media
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Feedback
    • Accessibility
  • SUBSCRIBE

User menu

  • Log out
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of Neuroscience
  • Log out
  • Log in
  • My Cart
Journal of Neuroscience

Advanced Search

Submit a Manuscript
  • HOME
  • CONTENT
    • Early Release
    • Featured
    • Current Issue
    • Issue Archive
    • Collections
    • Podcast
  • ALERTS
  • FOR AUTHORS
    • Information for Authors
    • Fees
    • Journal Clubs
    • eLetters
    • Submit
    • Special Collections
  • EDITORIAL BOARD
    • Editorial Board
    • ECR Advisory Board
    • Journal Staff
  • ABOUT
    • Overview
    • Advertise
    • For the Media
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Feedback
    • Accessibility
  • SUBSCRIBE
PreviousNext
Brief Communications

Nipping Cue Reactivity in the Bud: Baclofen Prevents Limbic Activation Elicited by Subliminal Drug Cues

Kimberly A. Young, Teresa R. Franklin, David C.S. Roberts, Kanchana Jagannathan, Jesse J. Suh, Reagan R. Wetherill, Ze Wang, Kyle M. Kampman, Charles P. O'Brien and Anna Rose Childress
Journal of Neuroscience 2 April 2014, 34 (14) 5038-5043; https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4977-13.2014
Kimberly A. Young
1Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Teresa R. Franklin
1Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
David C.S. Roberts
2Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, and
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Kanchana Jagannathan
1Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jesse J. Suh
1Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104,
3Philadelphia VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Reagan R. Wetherill
1Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Ze Wang
1Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Kyle M. Kampman
1Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104,
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Charles P. O'Brien
1Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104,
3Philadelphia VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Anna Rose Childress
1Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104,
3Philadelphia VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF
Loading

Article Information

DOI 
https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4977-13.2014
PubMed 
24695721
Published By 
Society for Neuroscience
History 
  • Received November 27, 2013
  • Revision received February 27, 2014
  • Accepted March 6, 2014
  • First published April 2, 2014.
  • Version of record published April 2, 2014.
Copyright & Usage 
Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/345038-06$15.00/0

Author Information

  1. Kimberly A. Young1,
  2. Teresa R. Franklin1,
  3. David C.S. Roberts2,
  4. Kanchana Jagannathan1,
  5. Jesse J. Suh1,3,
  6. Reagan R. Wetherill1,
  7. Ze Wang1,
  8. Kyle M. Kampman1,
  9. Charles P. O'Brien1,3, and
  10. Anna Rose Childress1,3
  1. 1Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104,
  2. 2Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, and
  3. 3Philadelphia VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
View Full Text

Author contributions

  1. Author contributions: A.R.C. designed research; K.M.K. and A.R.C. performed research; K.A.Y., K.J., Z.W., and A.R.C. analyzed data; K.A.Y., T.F., D.C.S.R., J.J.S., R.R.W., C.P.O., and A.R.C. wrote the paper.

Disclosures

    • Received November 27, 2013.
    • Revision received February 27, 2014.
    • Accepted March 6, 2014.
  • The authors declare no competing financial interests.

  • This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grants T32 DA029974, R01 DA010241, and P50 DA12756, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania CURE Addiction Center of Excellence. We thank the research and clinical staff and nurses at the Center for Studies of Addictions, for their expert assistance throughout the study, the technical staff at the University of Pennsylvania Center for Functional Neuroimaging, and Yin Li, for assistance with image processing. We also thank the National Institute on Drug Abuse for providing the study medication.

  • Correspondence should be addressed to Anna Rose Childress, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, 3900 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. childres{at}mail.med.upenn.edu

Online Impact

 

Article usage

Select a custom date range for the past year
E.g., 2025-06-13
to
E.g., 2025-06-13

Article usage: January 2018 to June 2025

AbstractFullPdf
Jan 2018417320
Feb 2018555913
Mar 20181911730
Apr 20183027721
May 2018181329
Jun 201816517
Jul 201817838
Aug 20188298
Sep 2018147017
Oct 201826658
Nov 201830756
Dec 2018405218
Total 20183141083165
Jan 201937489
Feb 2019306019
Mar 2019227421
Apr 20195710214
May 2019294410
Jun 2019103818
Jul 2019182711
Aug 20198197
Oct 201924348
Nov 201928378
Dec 20199196
Total 2019272502131
Jan 2020192311
Feb 2020152518
Mar 202013289
May 2020182613
Jun 2020143010
Jul 20206340
Aug 2020142212
Sep 202030307
Oct 202010647
Nov 2020215517
Dec 2020172912
Total 2020177366116
Jan 2021123012
Feb 202191514
Mar 2021172621
Apr 2021134914
May 2021112710
Jun 20215339
Jul 2021131915
Aug 2021113715
Sep 2021102110
Oct 202183223
Nov 202181717
Dec 202162713
Total 2021123333173
Jan 2022172510
Feb 202281816
Mar 202271922
Apr 202256212
May 2022121823
Jun 202253613
Jul 2022142414
Aug 2022202117
Sep 202211820
Oct 202215178
Nov 2022735
Dec 2022391
Total 2022114270161
Jan 202383219
Feb 20238235
Mar 202381611
Apr 2023112610
May 2023232916
Jun 202373510
Jul 2023102912
Aug 202362315
Sep 20235316
Oct 2023119553
Nov 2023182209
Dec 202312484
Total 2023127607170
Jan 202415339
Feb 2024173613
Mar 2024162418
Apr 2024153012
May 202473513
Jun 202442814
Jul 2024132619
Aug 202463621
Sep 202484313
Oct 202494515
Nov 2024132513
Dec 2024152013
Total 2024138381173
Jan 2025181517
Feb 2025252611
Mar 2025134819
Apr 202582413
May 20258216
Jun 2025161
Total 20257314067
Total133836821156
Back to top

In this issue

The Journal of Neuroscience: 34 (14)
Journal of Neuroscience
Vol. 34, Issue 14
2 Apr 2014
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
  • Advertising (PDF)
  • Ed Board (PDF)
Email

Thank you for sharing this Journal of Neuroscience article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Nipping Cue Reactivity in the Bud: Baclofen Prevents Limbic Activation Elicited by Subliminal Drug Cues
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Journal of Neuroscience
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in Journal of Neuroscience.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Print
View Full Page PDF
Citation Tools
Nipping Cue Reactivity in the Bud: Baclofen Prevents Limbic Activation Elicited by Subliminal Drug Cues
Kimberly A. Young, Teresa R. Franklin, David C.S. Roberts, Kanchana Jagannathan, Jesse J. Suh, Reagan R. Wetherill, Ze Wang, Kyle M. Kampman, Charles P. O'Brien, Anna Rose Childress
Journal of Neuroscience 2 April 2014, 34 (14) 5038-5043; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4977-13.2014

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Respond to this article
Request Permissions
Share
Nipping Cue Reactivity in the Bud: Baclofen Prevents Limbic Activation Elicited by Subliminal Drug Cues
Kimberly A. Young, Teresa R. Franklin, David C.S. Roberts, Kanchana Jagannathan, Jesse J. Suh, Reagan R. Wetherill, Ze Wang, Kyle M. Kampman, Charles P. O'Brien, Anna Rose Childress
Journal of Neuroscience 2 April 2014, 34 (14) 5038-5043; DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4977-13.2014
Twitter logo Facebook logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Introduction
    • Materials and Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Keywords

  • addiction
  • baclofen
  • cocaine
  • cues
  • fMRI
  • subliminal

Responses to this article

Respond to this article

Jump to comment:

  • Implications for Treatment of Cocaine Addiction
    M. Saad Khan
    Published on: 19 February 2016
  • Published on: (19 February 2016)
    Page navigation anchor for Implications for Treatment of Cocaine Addiction
    Implications for Treatment of Cocaine Addiction
    • M. Saad Khan, Student

    The research presented here demonstrates a truly novel approach to the treatment of cocaine addiction. More recent literature indicates activation associated with the limbic system in response to drug cues (Childress et al., 2015). Comprehensive literature searches indicate that, to date, there has not been any significant advancement in this regard. Treatment via drugs such as Baclofen remains an area of untapped potent...

    Show More

    The research presented here demonstrates a truly novel approach to the treatment of cocaine addiction. More recent literature indicates activation associated with the limbic system in response to drug cues (Childress et al., 2015). Comprehensive literature searches indicate that, to date, there has not been any significant advancement in this regard. Treatment via drugs such as Baclofen remains an area of untapped potential.

    While there is no doubt that the prevention of subliminal drug cues will play an instrumental role in the prevention of relapse in the future, would not the actual onset of these cues be virtually unknown to the individual him/herself? There continues to be a glaring paucity of research in this area. While conscious drug cues themselves are considered subjective in nature, cues of a subconscious nature will consequently be of a more controversial nature when treatment options are being considered. Among the findings mentioned in the paper, the authors conceded the possibility of Baclofen exerting more generalized effects on motivational processes, considering its role as a dopamine modulator. As a result, its role in pharmacotherapy becomes immediately questionable - would the advantages of using such a drug to treat essentially undetectable subliminal cues override the risk associated with generalized effects on motivational responses that extend to other facets of life? The practicality of using this drug so comes into question - how would clinicians be aware of the presence of subliminal drug cues so as to justify the use of Baclofen for treatment? The obvious answer is to use neuroimaging measures, such as fMRI. But would this be effective in the treatment of addiction when large populations are considered? Considering the number of addicted individuals in the present day, subjecting individuals who have been treated for cocaine addiction to fMRI tests at regular intervals seems like a sensible strategy, but definitely not cost-effective in the long-term.

    The question I posit here by no means seeks to undermine the novel findings presented by the authors. As I mentioned earlier, the findings demonstrate a significant area of untapped potential when it comes to the treatment of cocaine addiction (and potentially addiction to other drugs). Indeed, there have been findings for Baclofen's usefulness in the treatment of alcohol dependence and comorbid anxiety (Morley et al., 2014), although, in this instance, the findings were quite selective to the specific condition of alcohol dependence and comorbid anxiety. This therefore highlights the need for more research with this specific focus.

    Conflict of Interest:

    None declared

    Show Less
    Competing Interests: None declared.

Related Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

  • Heteromodal Cortical Areas Encode Sensory-Motor Features of Word Meaning
  • Pharmacologically Counteracting a Phenotypic Difference in Cerebellar GABAA Receptor Response to Alcohol Prevents Excessive Alcohol Consumption in a High Alcohol-Consuming Rodent Genotype
  • Neuromuscular NMDA Receptors Modulate Developmental Synapse Elimination
Show more Brief Communications
  • Home
  • Alerts
  • Follow SFN on BlueSky
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Facebook
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on Twitter
  • Follow Society for Neuroscience on LinkedIn
  • Visit Society for Neuroscience on Youtube
  • Follow our RSS feeds

Content

  • Early Release
  • Current Issue
  • Issue Archive
  • Collections

Information

  • For Authors
  • For Advertisers
  • For the Media
  • For Subscribers

About

  • About the Journal
  • Editorial Board
  • Privacy Notice
  • Contact
  • Accessibility
(JNeurosci logo)
(SfN logo)

Copyright © 2025 by the Society for Neuroscience.
JNeurosci Online ISSN: 1529-2401

The ideas and opinions expressed in JNeurosci do not necessarily reflect those of SfN or the JNeurosci Editorial Board. Publication of an advertisement or other product mention in JNeurosci should not be construed as an endorsement of the manufacturer’s claims. SfN does not assume any responsibility for any injury and/or damage to persons or property arising from or related to any use of any material contained in JNeurosci.