Oxytocin, Stress, Craving, Opioid Use Disorder

The goal of this research is to evaluate whether oxytocin, a hormone with anti-stress properties, dampens the effects of stress and opioid-associated cues on opioid craving and thus may be an effective adjunctive treatment for OUD. The central hypothesis of this research is that oxytocin will reduce stress-induced opioid craving in patients with OUD treated with buprenorphine/naloxone as opioid replacement therapy (ORT). This hypothesis is based on the model of addiction (Koob, Neuron 2008) in which chronic substance use and stress lead to neurobehavioral counter-adaptations that dysregulate biobehavioral response. In this double-blind, cross-over, placebo controlled, randomized trial, individuals with OUD (N=20 who are currently receiving treatment with buprenorphine/naloxone or methadone will be randomized to intranasal oxytocin (40 international units, IU) and oxytocin-matched placebo, administered twice/day for 7 days with a minimum of two days between the opposite condition (oxytocin or placebo). On days 5 and 7, and on days 14 and 16, participants will complete two counter-balanced sessions in which they receive yohimbine (32.4 mg) or yohimbine-matched placebo.