Role of Pavlovian mechanisms for control over substance use (B03)

• Subject Area: Biological Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience ; Biological Psychiatry ; Clinical Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry ; Human Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience ; Cognitive, Systems and Behavioural Neurobiology
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 402170461

In the 1st FP, we demonstrated that Pavlovian-to-Instrumental-Transfer (PIT) is associated with stress, susceptibility for cognitive conflicts, and alcohol use. In the 2nd FP, we will study participants with other SUDs (cannabis and methamphetamine) under social stress using a more sensitive PIT paradigm developed in the 1st FP. Further, we will investigate whether PIT is a goal-directed or habitual process and develop a gamified PIT task suitable for repeated assessments and use as a smartphone App.

• DFG Programme: CRC/Transregios
• Subproject of: TRR 265: Losing and Regaining Control over Drug Intake: From Trajectories to Mechanisms to Interventions
• Applicant Institution: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Andreas Heinz; Privatdozent Dr. Maximilian Pilhatsch; Professor Dr. Michael Smolka, since 7/2023