title: Increased corticolimbic connectivity in cocaine dependence versus pathological gambling is associated with drug severity and emotion-related impulsivity.
abstract: Neural biomarkers for the active detrimental effects of cocaine dependence (CD) are lacking. Direct comparisons of brain connectivity in cocaine-targeted networks between CD and behavioural addictions (i.e. pathological gambling, PG) may be informative. This study therefore contrasted the resting-state functional connectivity networks of 20 individuals with CD, 19 individuals with PG and 21 healthy individuals (controls). Study groups were assessed to rule out psychiatric co-morbidities (except alcohol abuse and nicotine dependence) and current substance use or gambling (except PG). We first examined global connectivity differences in the corticolimbic reward network and then utilized seed-based analyses to characterize the connectivity of regions displaying between-group differences. We examined the relationships between seed-based connectivity and trait impulsivity and cocaine severity. CD compared with PG displayed increased global functional connectivity in a large-scale ventral corticostriatal network involving the orbitofrontal cortex, caudate, thalamus and amygdala. Seed-based analyses showed that CD compared with PG exhibited enhanced connectivity between the orbitofrontal and subgenual cingulate cortices and between caudate and lateral prefrontal cortex, which are involved in representing the value of decision-making feedback. CD and PG compared with controls showed overlapping connectivity changes between the orbitofrontal and dorsomedial prefrontal cortices and between amygdala and insula, which are involved in stimulus-outcome learning. Orbitofrontal-subgenual cingulate cortical connectivity correlated with impulsivity and caudate/amygdala connectivity correlated with cocaine severity. We conclude that CD is linked to enhanced connectivity in a large-scale ventral corticostriatal-amygdala network that is relevant to decision making and likely to reflect an active cocaine detrimental effect.
authors.affiliation: Red de Trastornos Adictivos, Universidad de Granada, Spain.|Institute of Neuroscience F. Oloriz, Universidad de Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Oren
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Contreras-Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, Deakin University, Australia.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Albein-Urios
authors.affiliation: Red de Trastornos Adictivos, Universidad de Granada, Spain.|Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center, Universidad de Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Raquel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vilar-López
authors.affiliation: Red de Trastornos Adictivos, Universidad de Granada, Spain.|Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center, Universidad de Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Perales
authors.affiliation: Red de Trastornos Adictivos, Universidad de Granada, Spain.|Centro Provincial de Drogodependencias, Diputación de Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Martínez-Gonzalez
authors.affiliation: Red de Trastornos Adictivos, Universidad de Granada, Spain.|Department of Psychology, Universidad de Jaén, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Fernández-Serrano
authors.affiliation: Red de Trastornos Adictivos, Universidad de Granada, Spain.|Department of Psychology, Universidad de Huelva, Spain.
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lozano-Rojas
authors.affiliation: Centre for Gambling Research at UBC, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Luke
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.affiliation: Red de Trastornos Adictivos, Universidad de Granada, Spain.|Institute of Neuroscience F. Oloriz, Universidad de Granada, Spain.|School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Australia.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Verdejo-García
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003657:Decision Making; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D005715:Gambling / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008032:Limbic System / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
keywords: Cocaine; corticolimbic networks; gambling; global connectivity; impulsivity; substance use and addictive disorders