TY - JOUR PY - 2014// TI - Altered cingulate and insular cortex activation during risk-taking in methamphetamine dependence: Losses lose impact JO - Addiction A1 - Gowin, Joshua L. A1 - Stewart, Jennifer L. A1 - May, April C. A1 - Ball, Tali M. A1 - Wittmann, Marc A1 - Tapert, Susan F. A1 - Paulus, Martin P. SP - 237 EP - 247 VL - 109 IS - 2 N2 - 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.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 0965-2140 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/add.12354 ID - ref1 ER -