@article{ref1,
title="Altered cingulate and insular cortex activation during risk-taking in methamphetamine dependence: Losses lose impact",
journal="Addiction",
year="2014",
author="Gowin, Joshua L. and Stewart, Jennifer L. and May, April C. and Ball, Tali M. and Wittmann, Marc and Tapert, Susan F. and Paulus, Martin P.",
volume="109",
number="2",
pages="237-247",
abstract="AIMS: To determine if methamphetamine-dependent (MD) individuals exhibit behavioral or neural processing differences in risk-taking relative to healthy comparison participants (CTL). DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study comparing two groups' behavior on a risk-taking task and neural processing as assessed using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). SETTINGS: The study was conducted in an inpatient treatment center and a research fMRI facility in the United States. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-eight recently abstinent MD individuals recruited from a treatment program and forty CTL recruited from the community completed the study. MEASUREMENTS: The study assessed risk-taking behavior (overall and post-loss) using the Risky Gains Task (RGT), sensation-seeking, impulsivity and blood-oxygenation level dependent activation in the brain during the decision phase of the RGT. FINDINGS: Relative to CTL, MD displayed decreased activation in the bilateral rostral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and greater activation in the left insula across risky and safe decisions (p<.05). Right mid insula activation among CTL did not vary between risky and safe decisions, but among MD it was higher during risky relative to safe decisions (p<.05). Among MD, lower activation in the right rostral ACC (r=-.39, p<.01) and higher activation in the right mid insula (r=.35, p<.01) during risky decisions were linked to a higher likelihood of choosing a risky option following a loss. CONCLUSIONS: Methamphetamine-dependent individuals show disrupted risk-related processing in both anterior cingulate and insula, brain areas that have been implicated in cognitive control and interoceptive processing. Attenuated neural processing of risky options may lead to risk-taking despite experiencing negative consequences.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0965-2140",
doi="10.1111/add.12354",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/add.12354"
}