Cocaine use disorder has wide-ranging social, economic, and health-related consequences,
including changes to the neural stress networks that may be linked to deficits in goal-directed
behavior. Distress tolerance (DT), or the ability to withstand negative affect during goal-directed
activities, is implicated in maintaining substance use disorders. Low distress tolerance (measured
behaviorally) has been linked to worse treatment outcomes, shorter abstinence attempts, and
more days of substance use. Daughters et al. (2016) validated a measure of DT (the Paced
Auditory Serial Addition Task, or PASAT) for an fMRI scanner to examine the neural correlates
of DT. As a follow up, the current study used longitudinal data from a sample of 24 regular
cocaine and nicotine users to determine if the neural correlates associated with stress could be
used to predict future substance use 30 days post-scan. There was a positive correlation between
the percentage of days used crack/cocaine and the bilateral amygdala activation in response to
stress. This is in line with prior studies regarding the implication of the hyperactivation of the
amygdala in anxiety and increased substance use frequency. Future research should utilize a
treatment-seeking population of cocaine users to determine whether neural regions linked to DT
can predict treatment outcomes and relapse frequency to potentially find biomarkers to target
with treatment.Bachelor of Scienc
