Header

UZH-Logo

Maintenance Infos

Affective reactivity in heroin-dependent patients with antisocial personality disorder


Walter, M; Degen, B; Treugut, C; Albrich, J; Oppel, M; Schulz, A; Schächinger, H; Dürsteler-MacFarland, K M; Wiesbeck, G A (2011). Affective reactivity in heroin-dependent patients with antisocial personality disorder. Psychiatry Research, 187(1-2):210-213.

Abstract

The Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), one of the most common co-morbid psychiatric disorders in heroin-dependent patients, is associated with a lack of affective modulation. The present study aimed to compare the affect-modulated startle responses of opioid-maintained heroin-dependent patients with and without ASPD relative to those of healthy controls. Sixty participants (20 heroin-dependent patients with ASPD, 20 heroin-dependent patients without ASPD, 20 healthy controls) were investigated in an affect-modulated startle experiment. Participants viewed neutral, pleasant, unpleasant, and drug-related stimuli while eye-blink responses to randomly delivered startling noises were recorded continuously. Both groups of heroin-dependent patients exhibited significantly smaller startle responses (raw values) than healthy controls. However, they showed a normal affective modulation: higher startle responses to unpleasant, lower startle responses to pleasant stimuli and no difference to drug-related stimuli compared to neutral stimuli. These findings indicate a normally modulated affective reactivity in heroin-dependent patients with ASPD.

Abstract

The Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), one of the most common co-morbid psychiatric disorders in heroin-dependent patients, is associated with a lack of affective modulation. The present study aimed to compare the affect-modulated startle responses of opioid-maintained heroin-dependent patients with and without ASPD relative to those of healthy controls. Sixty participants (20 heroin-dependent patients with ASPD, 20 heroin-dependent patients without ASPD, 20 healthy controls) were investigated in an affect-modulated startle experiment. Participants viewed neutral, pleasant, unpleasant, and drug-related stimuli while eye-blink responses to randomly delivered startling noises were recorded continuously. Both groups of heroin-dependent patients exhibited significantly smaller startle responses (raw values) than healthy controls. However, they showed a normal affective modulation: higher startle responses to unpleasant, lower startle responses to pleasant stimuli and no difference to drug-related stimuli compared to neutral stimuli. These findings indicate a normally modulated affective reactivity in heroin-dependent patients with ASPD.

Statistics

Citations

Dimensions.ai Metrics
6 citations in Web of Science®
9 citations in Scopus®
Google Scholar™

Altmetrics

Downloads

3 downloads since deposited on 12 Oct 2011
0 downloads since 12 months
Detailed statistics

Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:04 Faculty of Medicine > Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich > Clinic for Clinical and Social Psychiatry Zurich West (former)
Dewey Decimal Classification:610 Medicine & health
Scopus Subject Areas:Health Sciences > Psychiatry and Mental Health
Life Sciences > Biological Psychiatry
Language:English
Date:2011
Deposited On:12 Oct 2011 14:24
Last Modified:23 Jan 2022 19:19
Publisher:Elsevier
ISSN:0165-1781
OA Status:Closed
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2010.10.017