Cary Crall and Dr. Scott Steffensen, Department of Neuroscience

Opiate use in Utah has grown faster than that of any other substance in the past year (Duda, 2008). In 2007, total opiate abuse (e.g., heroin, Oxycodones, etc.) accounted for 15.3% of overall substance abuse in male clients and 18.1% in female clients (see Payne, 2007). [I’m expecting you to say what the usage rates are in 2010 (or at least 2009) here.]. By October 2008, it was reported that prescription drugs had killed more people than car accidents in Utah, with 6.5% of fatalities caused by using prescription painkillers—most opiate based—for nonmedical reasons (Stryker, 2008). In many cases, opiate addiction ruins individuals’ day-to-day functioning and then kills them. Efforts to better understand and treat this condition are not wasted.

While relapse rates in opiate addiction are high, 82% of drug abusers report drug abstinence upon discharge from a treatment center with 71% reporting no or significantly decreased drug use 30 days later (Utah Department of Human Services: Substance Abuse Services Report). Treatment can work. Unfortunately, in 2008 it was determined that the cost of helping first time offenders was too great (Israelsen-Hartley, 2008). These high costs have left Utahns in a situation where 84,325 adults in Utah need substance abuse treatment while only 16,745 treatment slots are available and over 16,000 Utah youth need substance abuse treatment with only 2,907 slots available (2007 Utah Department of Human Services: Substance Abuse Services Report). The costs of the current methods of treatment are simply too high to help everyone who needs it. Facing this challenge, the Israelsen-Hartley report concludes “–drug courts should serve high risk, high-need individuals—that‘s where the model is effective” (p. A6).

Our research has sought to develop an objective test through the use of a physiological measurement to determine the addictive state of the subject. We have used EEG technology to measure the amplitude and temporal spacing of the p300 waves of psychoactive and addictive substance-free controls and recovering opiate addicts. We have also added an array of neuropsychological tasks in order to see if cognitive and behavioral task performance is affected by the addicted state.

Preliminary findings have been encouraging. We have seen an average 34% increase in time of completion for the Trail making behavioral task between our experimental and control groups. This represents a significant difference. Similarly, accuracy on the Decoder task decreased 15% in our experimental population. These preliminary behavioral findings validate our hypothesis that neuropsychological functioning is reduced in an opiate-addicted population.

Unfortunately, we have not completed our statistical analysis of the p300 waves of our experimental and control populations. In order to accomplish this, we are currently undergoing training in the NetStation analytical software. Findings in preliminary studies encourage us that our data will support our hypothesis that our addict population will show significant variation in the amplitude and temporal spacing of their p300 waves. Learning to operate the statistical software is by far, the greatest challenge I have faced in conducting this research.

One of the most valuable experiences I had in performing this experiment was my opportunity to work with recovering addicts through Utah’s Project Reality treatment program and the Utah County Division of Substance Abuse treatment entry class. I feel I have a better understanding of what life circumstances make someone vulnerable to develop a substance abuse problem and what type of encouragement these people need to reclaim their lives as they emerge from addiction. I appreciated having a chance to serve and learn from these people every time I went into the lab. I was even offered opportunities to teach some classes down at the Utah Department of Public Health to explain our research and its implications for addicts. This project has definitely grown into more of a life cause as I head to medical school in the Fall.

References

• Duda, J. (2008, March 30). County heroin use on the rise. The Daily Herald, pp. A1, A6.
• Israelsen-Hartley, S. (2008). Messing with success? State changes funding for sending first-time felons to ‘drug court’. Deseret News, pp. A1, A6.
• Payne, M. I. (2007). Annual Report. Retrieved November 21, 2008. from http://www.hsmh.state.ut.us/docs/2007_annual_report_for_web.pdf.
• Stryker, A. (2008). Utah leads nation in prescription abuse. The Daily Herald, pp. B1, B3.