There are many factors that need to be taken into consideration when measuring craving in a human laboratory study. This review summarizes and discusses some of the major challenges researchers are faced with when assessing opioid craving in clinical research. First, there are wide range of available assessments that have been developed for measuring craving and depending on the research questions or the underlying constructs targeted, some may be more appropriate than others. In addition to establishing the methodological point of departure for designing a study with craving, there are also different participant conditions and characteristics that need to be evaluated when selecting among the large selection of assessments available. Participant conditions/characteristics can influence the degree or frequency of opioid craving experienced. Lastly, there can be contextual conditions that affect opioid cravings such as a stressful environment that may alter cue saliency. It is recommended that researchers carefully consider the different constituents that contribute to opioid craving and to ensure a comprehensive evaluation when assessing each participant. A more thorough consideration of these challenges can help us to understand the optimal ways to measure one important and complex component of addiction.

中文翻译：

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人类实验室环境中的阿片类药物渴望：挑战和局限性回顾。


在人类实验室研究中测量渴望时需要考虑许多因素。这篇综述总结并讨论了研究人员在临床研究中评估阿片类药物渴望时面临的一些主要挑战。首先，已经开发出多种可用的评估来衡量渴望，并且根据研究问题或目标基本结构，有些可能比其他更合适。除了建立设计渴望研究的方法出发点之外，在大量可用评估中进行选择时，还需要评估不同的参与者条件和特征。参与者的状况/特征可能会影响对阿片类药物渴望的程度或频率。最后，可能存在影响阿片类药物渴望的环境条件，例如可能改变提示显着性的压力环境。建议研究人员仔细考虑导致阿片类药物渴望的不同成分，并确保在评估每个参与者时进行全面评估。更彻底地考虑这些挑战可以帮助我们了解衡量成瘾的一个重要而复杂的组成部分的最佳方法。