Additionally, while the presence of occipital activity was high across all classes of substance-dependent populations, it is still unclear whether this activity is indicative of something specific to dependence or vulnerability. Many questions remain to be answered with regard to the role of visual cortex activity in response to visual drug cues. Future investigations range from both basic science inquiries (e.g., salience versus reward, temporal dynamics of visual versus striatal activity to drug cues), to the potential clinical value of detecting vulnerability to drug use or relapse based upon visual cortical response to drug images. Furthermore, if the primary visual cortex is more stimulated by drug cues than neutral cues, there are potential implications for public policy including detection of vulnerable youth, variations between legal and illegal substances, and the role of visual cortex stimulation in maintaining the chronic process of addiction, abstinence, and relapse. The present study is an initial step in recognizing a potentially informative new target of investigation in addiction research. These results support future basic and clinical addiction science inquiry focused on the visual cortex.
