Feeding the addiction: Narrowing of goals to habits

Abstract

Whilst the initiation of cocaine use is typically goal-directed and motivated by the rewarding effects of the drug, drug-taking can become habitual over time, rendering the user less sensitive to cocaine s hedonic value. Experimental studies suggest that patients with cocaine use disorder (CUD) are particularly prone to develop habits, even in non-drug related contexts. CUD patients have previously been shown to consume higher levels of high-calorie foods and report more uncontrolled eating, suggesting a tendency towards habitual or dysregulated food-related behaviours. We investigated this in CUD patients compared with healthy controls. Participants were presented with a series of food images and asked to rate their willingness to pay for, and their motivation to consume the foods. Self-reported motivations for food choices were collected using a validated questionnaire. Our data suggests CUD patients display goal-narrowing towards cocaine, as well as habitual tendencies towards both cocaine and food. These findings stress the importance of addressing non-drug related behaviours when treating CUD patients. Further, they suggest that habits may provide a novel and additional target for psychological interventions, for example, through the retraining of maladaptive habits. Whilst research into the feasibility and efficacy of habit retraining is certainly required, the potential for a new avenue of treatment should not be ignored.