Citation

Zhou X, Zimmermann K, Xin F, Zhao W, Derckx RT, Sassmannshausen A, Scheele D, Hurlemann R, Weber B, Kendrick KM, Becker B. Biol. Psychiatry Cogn. Neurosci. Neuroimaging 2019; 4(8): 751-762.

Affiliation

The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China. Electronic address: ben_becker@gmx.de.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Society of Biological Psychiatry, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.bpsc.2019.04.006

PMID

31204249

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Animal models of addiction suggest that the transition from incentive-driven drug use to habitual and ultimately compulsive drug use is mediated by a shift from ventral to dorsal striatal cue control over drug seeking. Previous studies in human cannabis users reported elevated trait impulsivity and neural cue reactivity in striatal circuits; however, these studies were not able to separate addiction-related from exposure-related adaptations.

METHODS: To differentiate the adaptive changes, the current functional magnetic resonance imaging study examined behavioral and neural cue reactivity in dependent (n = 18) and nondependent (n = 20) heavy cannabis users and a nonusing reference group (n = 44).

RESULTS: Irrespective of dependence status, cannabis users demonstrated elevated trait impulsivity as well as increased ventral striatal reactivity and striatal frontal coupling in response to drug cues. Dependent users selectively exhibited dorsal striatal reactivity and decreased striatal limbic coupling during cue exposure. An exploratory analysis revealed that higher ventral caudate neural cue reactivity was associated with stronger cue-induced arousal and craving in dependent users, whereas this pattern was reversed in nondependent users.

CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, the current findings suggest that exaggerated responses of the ventral striatal reward system may promote excessive drug use in humans, whereas adaptations in dorsal striatal systems engaged in habit formation may promote the transition to addictive use.


Keyword: Cannabis impaired driving


Copyright © 2019 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Addiction; Amygdala; Cannabis; Cue reactivity; Impulsivity; Striatum