title: Location, location: using functional magnetic resonance imaging to pinpoint brain differences relevant to stimulant use.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this review is to summarize the neural substrate dysfunctions and disrupted cognitive, affective and experiential processes observed in methamphetamine and cocaine-dependent individuals.
  
  
  METHODS
  We reviewed all publications in PubMed that conducted comparison studies between healthy volunteers and cocaine-, amphetamine- or methamphetamine-dependent individuals using functional magnetic resonance imaging.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Stimulant dependence is characterized by a distributed alteration of functional activation to a number of experimental paradigms. Attenuated anterior and posterior cingulate activation, reduced inferior frontal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation and altered posterior parietal activation point towards an inadequate demand-specific processing of information. Processes reported most consistently to be deficient in these functional neuroimaging studies include inhibitory control, executive functioning and decision-making.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  One emerging theme is that stimulant-dependent individuals show specific, rather than generic, brain activation differences, i.e. instead of showing more or less brain activation regardless of task, they exhibit process-related brain activation differences that are consistent with a shift from context-specific, effortful processing to more stereotyped, habitual response generation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of California, San Diego (USCD), CA 92037-0985, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Aron
authors.forename: Martin P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Paulus
mesh_terms: D019969:Amphetamine-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects; D001927:Brain Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D008694:Methamphetamine