title: Reward-related dorsal striatal activity differences between former and current cocaine dependent individuals during an interactive competitive game.
abstract: Cocaine addiction is characterized by impulsivity, impaired social relationships, and abnormal mesocorticolimbic reward processing, but their interrelationships relative to stages of cocaine addiction are unclear. We assessed blood-oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) signal in ventral and dorsal striatum during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in current (CCD; n = 30) and former (FCD; n = 28) cocaine dependent subjects as well as healthy control (HC; n = 31) subjects while playing an interactive competitive Domino game involving risk-taking and reward/punishment processing. Out-of-scanner impulsivity-related measures were also collected. Although both FCD and CCD subjects scored significantly higher on impulsivity-related measures than did HC subjects, only FCD subjects had differences in striatal activation, specifically showing hypoactivation during their response to gains versus losses in right dorsal caudate, a brain region linked to habituation, cocaine craving and addiction maintenance. Right caudate activity in FCD subjects also correlated negatively with impulsivity-related measures of self-reported compulsivity and sensitivity to reward. These findings suggest that remitted cocaine dependence is associated with striatal dysfunction during social reward processing in a manner linked to compulsivity and reward sensitivity measures. Future research should investigate the extent to which such differences might reflect underlying vulnerabilities linked to cocaine-using propensities (e.g., relapses).
authors.affiliation: Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Institute of Living at Hartford Hospital, Hartford, Connecticut, United States of America. Chyatt@harthosp.org
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Hyatt
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Assaf
authors.forename: Christine E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Muska
authors.forename: Rivkah I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Rosen
authors.forename: Andre D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Matthew R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hylton
authors.forename: Melissa M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Andrews
authors.forename: Brady A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Krystal
authors.forename: Marc N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Potenza
authors.forename: Godfrey D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Pearlson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012201:Reward; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012919:Social Behavior; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult