Neurogenetic and epigenetic correlates of adolescent predisposition to and risk for addictive behaviors as a function of prefrontal cortex dysregulation

A Complex Relationship Among the Circadian Rhythm, Reward Circuit and Substance Use Disorder (SUD)

The human brain not only controls the various physiological functions but is also the prime regulator of circadian rhythms, rewards, and behaviors. Environmental factors, professional stress, and social disintegration are regarded as the initial causative factors of addiction behavior. Shift work, artificial light exposure at night, and chronic and acute jet lag influence circadian rhythm dysfunction. The result is impaired neurotransmitter release, dysfunction of neural circuits, endocrine disturbance, and metabolic disorder, leading to advancement in substance use disorder. There is a bidirectional relationship between chronodisruption and addiction behavior. Circadian rhythm dysfunction, neuroadaptation in the reward circuits, and alteration in clock gene expression in the mesolimbic areas influence substance use disorder (SUD), and chronotherapy has potential benefits in the treatment strategies. This review explores the relationship among the circadian rhythm dysfunction, reward circuit, and SUD. The impact of chronotherapy on SUD has also been discussed.

Addressing cortex dysregulation in youth through brain health check coaching and prophylactic brain development

The Carter Center has estimated that the addiction crisis in the United States (US), if continues to worsen at the same rate, may cost the country approximately 16 trillion dollars by 2030. In recent years, the well-being of youth has been compromised by not only the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic but also the alarming global opioid crisis, particularly in the US. Each year, deadly opioid drugs claim hundreds of thousands of lives, contributing to an ever-rising death toll. In addition, maternal usage of opioids and other drugs during pregnancy could compromise the neurodevelopment of children. A high rate of DNA polymorphic antecedents compounds the occurrence of epigenetic insults involving methylation of specific essential genes related to normal brain function. These genetic antecedent insults affect healthy DNA and mRNA transcription, leading to a loss of proteins required for normal brain development and function in youth. Myelination in the frontal cortex, a process known to extend until the late 20s, delays the development of proficient executive function and decision-making abilities. Understanding this delay in brain development, along with the presence of potential high-risk antecedent polymorphic variants or alleles and generational epigenetics, provides a clear rationale for embracing the Brain Research Commission's suggestion to mimic fitness programs with an adaptable brain health check (BHC). Implementing the BHC within the educational systems in the US and other countries could serve as an effective initiative for proactive therapies aimed at reducing juvenile mental health problems and eventually criminal activities, addiction, and other behaviors associated with reward deficiency syndrome.

Identification of stress-induced epigenetic methylation onto dopamine D2 gene and neurological and behavioral consequences

The D2 dopamine receptor (DRD2) gene has garnered substantial attention as one of the most extensively studied genes across various neuropsychiatric disorders. Since its initial association with severe alcoholism in 1990, particularly through the identification of the DRD2 Taq A1 allele, numerous international investigations have been conducted to elucidate its role in different conditions. As of February 22, 2024, there are 5485 articles focusing on the DRD2 gene listed in PUBMED. There have been 120 meta-analyses with mixed results. In our opinion, the primary cause of negative reports regarding the association of various DRD2 gene polymorphisms is the inadequate screening of controls, not adequately eliminating many hidden reward deficiency syndrome behaviors. Moreover, pleiotropic effects of DRD2 variants have been identified in neuropsychologic, neurophysiologic, stress response, social stress defeat, maternal deprivation, and gambling disorder, with epigenetic DNA methylation and histone post-translational negative methylation identified as discussed in this article. There are 70 articles listed in PUBMED for DNA methylation and 20 articles listed for histone methylation as of October 19, 2022. For this commentary, we did not denote DNA and/or histone methylation; instead, we provided a brief summary based on behavioral effects. Based on the fact that Blum and Noble characterized the DRD2 Taq A1 allele as a generalized reward gene and not necessarily specific alcoholism, it now behooves the field to find ways to either use effector moieties to edit the neuroepigenetic insults or possibly harness the idea of potentially removing negative mRNA-reduced expression by inducing "dopamine homeostasis."

Dopaminergic dysfunction: Role for genetic & epigenetic testing in the new psychiatry

Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS), particularly linked to addictive disorders, costs billions of dollars globally and has resulted in over one million deaths in the United States (US). Illicit substance use has been steadily rising and in 2021 approximately 21.9% (61.2 million) of individuals living in the US aged 12 or older had used illicit drugs in the past year. However, only 1.5% (4.1 million) of these individuals had received any substance use treatment. This increase in use and failure to adequately treat or provide treatment to these individuals resulted in 106,699 overdose deaths in 2021 and increased in 2022. This article presents an alternative non-pharmaceutical treatment approach tied to gene-guided therapy, the subject of many decades of research. The cornerstone of this paradigm shift is the brain reward circuitry, brain stem physiology, and neurotransmitter deficits due to the effects of genetic and epigenetic insults on the interrelated cascade of neurotransmission and the net release of dopamine at the Ventral Tegmental Area -Nucleus Accumbens (VTA-NAc) reward site. The Genetic Addiction Risk Severity (GARS) test and pro-dopamine regulator nutraceutical KB220 were combined to induce "dopamine homeostasis" across the brain reward circuitry. This article aims to encourage four future actionable items: 1) the neurophysiologically accurate designation of, for example, "Hyperdopameism /Hyperdopameism" to replace the blaming nomenclature like alcoholism; 2) encouraging continued research into the nature of dysfunctional brainstem neurotransmitters across the brain reward circuitry; 3) early identification of people at risk for all RDS behaviors as a brain check (cognitive testing); 4) induction of dopamine homeostasis using "precision behavioral management" along with the coupling of GARS and precision Kb220 variants; 5) utilization of promising potential treatments include neuromodulating modalities such as Transmagnetic stimulation (TMS) and Deep Brain Stimulation(DBS), which target different areas of the neural circuitry involved in addiction and even neuroimmune agents like N-acetyl-cysteine.

Do Gamers Play for Money? A Moderated Mediation of Gaming Motives, Relative Deprivation, and Upward Mobility

Past research indicates strong monetary motives for gambling often elevate an individual's risk of experiencing symptoms of gambling disorder, with personal relative deprivation (PRD) and upward mobility (UM) identified as key factors in this relationship. Nevertheless, few studies have examined how financial motives, PRD, and UM might interact for people playing modern video games-many of which offer financial incentives to encourage participation. Due to the overlap between gambling and (video) gaming, evidence suggests disordered gambling and disordered gaming might also share similarities. Therefore, the present study explored whether PRD influences associations between playing video games for financial motives, symptoms of Internet gaming disorder (IGD), and UM in two samples: 797 college students (Study 1) and 179 adult gamers over 25 years old (Study 2). Results from Study 1 revealed more PRD predicted more IGD symptoms, with higher financial gaming motives mediating the relationship. In Study 2, PRD also predicted IGD severity, but only coping motives appeared to mediate the positive association between PRD and IGD severity. In both samples, perceived UM inversely moderated the effect of PRD on one's financial or coping gaming motives. These findings suggest financial motives for video games might lead to more problematic forms of participation for younger adults and negative perceptions of PRD and UM might interact, similar to gambling, to elevate a gamer's vulnerability for IGD.

Should Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS) Be Considered an Umbrella Disorder for Mental Illness and Associated Genetic and Epigenetic Induced Dysregulation of Brain Reward Circuitry?

Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS) is defined as a breakdown of reward neurotransmission that results in a wide range of addictive, compulsive, and impulsive behaviors. RDS is caused by a combination of environmental (epigenetic) influences and DNA-based (genetic) neurotransmission deficits that interfere with the normal satisfaction of human physiological drives (i.e., food, water, and sex). An essential feature of RDS is the lack of integration between perception, cognition, and emotions that occurs because of (1) significant dopaminergic surges in motivation, reward, and learning centers causing neuroplasticity in the striato-thalamic-frontal cortical loop; (2) hypo-functionality of the excitatory glutamatergic afferents from the amygdala-hippocampus complex. A large volume of literature regarding the known neurogenetic and psychological underpinnings of RDS has revealed a significant risk of dopaminergic gene polymorphic allele overlap between cohorts of depression and subsets of schizophrenia. The suggestion is that instead of alcohol, opioids, gambling disorders, etc. being endophenotypes, the true phenotype is RDS. Additionally, reward deficiency can result from depleted or hereditary hypodopaminergia, which can manifest as a variety of personality traits and mental/medical disorders that have been linked to genetic studies with dopamine-depleting alleles. The carrying of known DNA antecedents, including epigenetic insults, results in a life-long vulnerability to RDS conditions and addictive behaviors. Epigenetic repair of hypodopaminergia, the causative basis of addictive behaviors, may involve precision DNA-guided therapy achieved by combining the Genetic Addiction Risk Severity (GARS) test with a researched neutraceutical having a number of variant names, including KB220Z. This nutraceutical formulation with pro-dopamine regulatory capabilities has been studied and published in peer-reviewed journals, mostly from our laboratory. Finally, it is our opinion that RDS should be given an ICD code and deserves to be included in the DSM-VI because while the DSM features symptomology, it is equally important to feature etiological roots as portrayed in the RDS model.

Advances in problematic usage of the internet research - A narrative review by experts from the European network for problematic usage of the internet

Global concern about problematic usage of the internet (PUI), and its public health and societal costs, continues to grow, sharpened in focus under the privations of the COVID-19 pandemic. This narrative review reports the expert opinions of members of the largest international network of researchers on PUI in the framework of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action (CA 16207), on the scientific progress made and the critical knowledge gaps remaining to be filled as the term of the Action reaches its conclusion. A key advance has been achieving consensus on the clinical definition of various forms of PUI. Based on the overarching public health principles of protecting individuals and the public from harm and promoting the highest attainable standard of health, the World Health Organisation has introduced several new structured diagnoses into the ICD-11, including gambling disorder, gaming disorder, compulsive sexual behaviour disorder, and other unspecified or specified disorders due to addictive behaviours, alongside naming online activity as a diagnostic specifier. These definitions provide for the first time a sound platform for developing systematic networked research into various forms of PUI at global scale. Progress has also been made in areas such as refining and simplifying some of the available assessment instruments, clarifying the underpinning brain-based and social determinants, and building more empirically based etiological models, as a basis for therapeutic intervention, alongside public engagement initiatives. However, important gaps in our knowledge remain to be tackled. Principal among these include a better understanding of the course and evolution of the PUI-related problems, across different age groups, genders and other specific vulnerable groups, reliable methods for early identification of individuals at risk (before PUI becomes disordered), efficacious preventative and therapeutic interventions and ethical health and social policy changes that adequately safeguard human digital rights. The paper concludes with recommendations for achievable research goals, based on longitudinal analysis of a large multinational cohort co-designed with public stakeholders.

Precision Behavioral Management (PBM) and Cognitive Control as a Potential Therapeutic and Prophylactic Modality for Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS): Is There Enough Evidence?

This brief commentary aims to provide an overview of the available and relatively new precision management of reward deficiencies manifested as substance and behavioral disorders. Current and future advances, concepts, and the substantial evidential basis of this potential therapeutic and prophylactic treatment modality are presented. Precision Behavioral Management (PBM), conceptualized initially as Precision Addiction Management (PAM), certainly deserves consideration as an important modality for the treatment of impaired cognitive control in reward processing as manifested in people with neurobiologically expressed Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS).

Development and validation of the Reward Deficiency Syndrome Questionnaire (RDSQ-29)

BACKGROUND

The reward deficiency syndrome (RDS) integrates psychological, neurological, and genetic factors of addictive, impulsive, and compulsive behaviors. However, to date, no instrument has been validated to assess the RDS construct.

AIMS

The present study developed and tested a tool to assess RDS.

METHODS

Data were collected on two college and university samples. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were performed on Sample 1 (N = 1726), and confirmatory analysis was conducted on an independent sample (N = 253). Impulsivity and sensation-seeking were assessed.

RESULTS

Based on EFAs, a 29-item Reward Deficiency Syndrome Questionnaire (RDSQ-29) was developed, containing four subscales (lack of sexual satisfaction, activity, social concerns, and risk-seeking behavior). CFA indicated good fit (comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.941; Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.933; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.068). Construct validity analysis showed strong relationship between sensation-seeking and the RDS scale.

CONCLUSION

The RDSQ-29 is an adequate scale assessing psychological and behavioral aspects of RDS. The RDSQ-29 assesses psychological and behavioral characteristics that may contribute to addictions generally.

NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic transmission in prefrontal neurons underlies social memory retrieval in female mice

Social memory is the ability to discriminate familiar conspecific from the unknown ones. Prefrontal neurons are essentially required for social memory, but the mechanism associated with this regulation remains unknown. It is also unclear to what extent the neuronal representations of social memory formation and retrieval events overlap in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and which event drives social memory strength. Here we asked these questions by using a repeated social training paradigm for social recognition in FosTRAP mice. We found that after 4 days' repeated social training, female mice developed stable social memory. Specifically, repeated social training activated more cells that were labeled with tdTomato during memory retrieval compared with the first day of memory encoding. Besides, combining TRAP with c-Fos immunostaining, we found about 30% of the FosTRAPed cells were reactivated during retrieval. Moreover, the number of retrieval-induced but not first-day encoding-induced tdTomato neurons correlates with the social recognition ratio in the prelimbic but not other subregions. The activated cells during the retrieval session also showed increased NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic transmission compared with that in non-labeled pyramidal neurons. Blocking NMDA receptors by MK-801 impaired social memory but not sociability. Therefore, our results reveal that repetitive training elevates mPFC involvement in social memory retrieval via enhancing NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic transmission, thus rendering stable social memory.

Adolescent Attachment to Parents and Peers and the Use of Instagram: The Mediation Role of Psychopathological Risk

Several studies have shown an association between adolescents’ attachment relationships and social media use. Instagram is the social media platform most used by teenagers and recent studies have shown an association between Instagram use and increased psychopathological risk. The present study aims to verify whether psychopathological risk mediates the relationship between an adolescent’s attachment to their parents and peers and their Instagram addiction. N = 372 adolescents are assessed through self-report questionnaires evaluating Instagram addiction, the adolescents’ attachments to parents and peers, and their psychopathological risk. The Bergen Instagram Addiction Scale (BIAS) is developed by adapting the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale. Results show the validity and reliability of the BIAS, confirming a one-factor structure. Findings show that a worse attachment to parents and peers is associated with adolescents’ psychopathological risk, which is associated with Instagram addiction. This finding has important clinical implications. Being able to intervene in adolescents’ relationships with parents and peers and the ways in which adolescents feel in relation to others could allow for a reduction in adolescents’ psychological difficulties, involving reduced Instagram use as a vehicle for the expression of their psychopathological symptoms.

Cannabis-Induced Hypodopaminergic Anhedonia and Cognitive Decline in Humans: Embracing Putative Induction of Dopamine Homeostasis

Over years, the regular use of cannabis has substantially increased among young adults, as indicated by the rise in cannabis use disorder (CUD), with an estimated prevalence of 8. 3% in the United States. Research shows that exposure to cannabis is associated with hypodopaminergic anhedonia (depression), cognitive decline, poor memory, inattention, impaired learning performance, reduced dopamine brain response-associated emotionality, and increased addiction severity in young adults. The addiction medicine community is increasing concern because of the high content of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) currently found in oral and vaping cannabis products, the cognitive effects of cannabis may become more pronounced in young adults who use these cannabis products. Preliminary research suggests that it is possible to induce 'dopamine homeostasis,' that is, restore dopamine function with dopamine upregulation with the proposed compound and normalize behavior in chronic cannabis users with cannabis-induced hypodopaminergic anhedonia (depression) and cognitive decline. This psychological, neurobiological, anatomical, genetic, and epigenetic research also could provide evidence to use for the development of an appropriate policy regarding the decriminalization of cannabis for recreational use.

A Novel Precision Approach to Overcome the "Addiction Pandemic" by Incorporating Genetic Addiction Risk Severity (GARS) and Dopamine Homeostasis Restoration

This article describes a unique therapeutic precision intervention, a formulation of enkephalinase inhibitors, enkephalin, and dopamine-releasing neuronutrients, to induce dopamine homeostasis for detoxification and treatment of individuals genetically predisposed to developing reward deficiency syndrome (RDS). The formulations are based on the results of the addiction risk severity (GARS) test. Based on both neurogenetic and epigenetic evidence, the test evaluates the presence of reward genes and risk alleles. Existing evidence demonstrates that the novel genetic risk testing system can successfully stratify the potential for developing opioid use disorder (OUD) related risks or before initiating opioid analgesic therapy and RDS risk for people in recovery. In the case of opioid use disorders, long-term maintenance agonist treatments like methadone and buprenorphine may create RDS, or RDS may have been in existence, but not recognized. The test will also assess the potential for benefit from medication-assisted treatment with dopamine augmentation. RDS methodology holds a strong promise for reducing the burden of addictive disorders for individuals, their families, and society as a whole by guiding the restoration of dopamine homeostasisthrough anti-reward allostatic neuroadaptations. WC 175.

Epigenetic Repair of Terrifying Lucid Dreams by Enhanced Brain Reward Functional Connectivity and Induction of Dopaminergic Homeostatic Signaling

During Lucid Dreams, the dreamer is aware, experiences the dream as if fully awake, and may control the dream content. The dreamer can start, stop, and restart dreaming, depending on the nature and pleasantness of the dream. For patients with Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS) behaviors, like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Tourette's- Syndrome, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the dream content may be pleasant, unpleasant, or terrifying. A sample of psychiatric center patients identified as having RDS reported the effectiveness of a neuronutrient, dopamine agonist, KB200Z, in combating terrifying, lucid dreaming. These reports motivated the study of eight clinical cases with known histories of substance abuse, childhood abuse, and PTSD. The administration of KB200Z, associated with eliminating unpleasant or terrifying lucid dreams in 87.5% of the cases. Subsequently, other published cases have further established the possibility of the long-term elimination of terrifying dreams in PTSD and ADHD patients. Induction of dopamine homeostasis may mitigate the effects of neurogenetic and epigenetic changes in neuroplasticity, identified in the pathogenesis of PTSD and ADHD. The article explores how relief of terrifying lucid dreams may benefit from modulation of dopaminergic signaling activated by the administration of a neuronutrient. Recently, precision formulations of the KB220 neuronutrient guided by Genetic Addiction Risk Score (GARS) test results have been used to repair inheritable deficiencies within the brain reward circuitry. The proposition is that improved dopamine transmodulational signaling may stimulate positive cognitive recall and subsequently attenuate the harmful epigenetic insults from trauma.

Exploration of Epigenetic State Hyperdopaminergia (Surfeit) and Genetic Trait Hypodopaminergia (Deficit) During Adolescent Brain Development

Background

The risk for all addictive drug and non-drug behaviors, especially, in the unmyelinated Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) of adolescents, is important and complex. Many animal and human studies show the epigenetic impact on the developing brain in adolescents, compared to adults. Some reveal an underlying hyperdopaminergia that seems to set our youth up for risky behaviors by inducing high quanta pre-synaptic dopamine release at reward site neurons. In addition, altered reward gene expression in adolescents caused epigenetically by social defeat, like bullying, can continue into adulthood. In contrast, there is also evidence that epigenetic events can elicit adolescent hypodopaminergia. This complexity suggests that neuroscience cannot make a definitive claim that all adolescents carry a hyperdopaminergia trait.

Objective

The primary issue involves the question of whether there exists a mixed hypo or hyper-dopaminergia in this population.

Method

Genetic Addiction Risk Score (GARS®) testing was carried out of 24 Caucasians of ages 12-19, derived from families with RDS.

Results

We have found that adolescents from this cohort, derived from RDS parents, displayed a high risk for any addictive behavior (a hypodopaminergia), especially, drug-seeking (95%) and alcohol-seeking (64%).

Conclusion

The adolescents in our study, although more work is required, show a hypodopaminergic trait, derived from a family with Reward Deficiency Syndrome (RDS). Certainly, in future studies, we will analyze GARS in non-RDS Caucasians between the ages of 12-19. The suggestion is first to identify risk alleles with the GARS test and, then, use well-researched precision, pro-dopamine neutraceutical regulation. This "two-hit" approach might prevent tragic fatalities among adolescents, in the face of the American opioid/psychostimulant epidemic.

The Future of Substance Abuse Now: Relationships among Adolescent Use of Vaping Devices, Marijuana, and Synthetic Cannabinoids

Background: Substances that can be vaped include nicotine, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and a range of synthetic drugs called new psychoactive substances (NPS). Due to the rising popularity of vaping among adolescents, it is crucial to understand the relationships between vaping and illicit drug use. Objectives: This paper examined the prevalence and trends of using vaping devices, marijuana vaping, marijuana products, synthetic cannabinoids and mist contents among youth. Methods: The study utilized 5 sets of public cross-sectional national data from the "Monitoring the Future" surveys during 2014-2018. It employed logistic regression to analyze the data. Results: There was an increase from 10.5% in 2017 to 20.8% in 2018 for the past 30-day use of vaping devices among 12^th graders. Furthermore, there was an increase from 21.6% in 2017 to 34.5% in 2018 for the past 12-month use of marijuana via vaping device among 12^th-grade marijuana users. Additionally, there were significant associations between vaping device use and marijuana vaping, between vaping device use and marijuana use, between vaping device use and synthetic cannabinoids use, and between marijuana use and synthetic cannabinoids use from 2016 to 2018. Conclusions: Vaping emerged as another major route of marijuana administration among youth. Adolescent marijuana users had higher odds of using synthetic cannabinoids. This finding highlighted the importance of understanding what adolescent substance consumption pattern would be where marijuana was legalized. It also supported the hypothesis that vaping devices use correlates with, or is associated with, marijuana and synthetic cannabinoids use.

The association between slow cortical potentials preceding antisaccades and disturbances of consciousness in persons with paraphilic sexual behaviour

Saccade characteristics and slow potentials in antisaccade tasks were studied in 37 people with disorders of sexual interest, depending on the disturbances of self-consciousness. The study found a decreased level of frontal cortex activation in subjects with disorders of self-consciousness; in subjects without disturbances of self-consciousness a high level of frontal cortex activation was observed. The findings demonstrate the important role of the frontal cortex in providing self-consciousness.

The benefits of genetic addiction risk score (GARS™) and pro-dopamine regulation in combating suicide in the American Indian population

It is well-known that Native Americans (NA) clinically present with a very high rate of alcoholism and other drugs of abuse. It is also known that NA also display a very high rate of suicide compared to other ethnic groups. Furthermore, individuals with various psychiatric disorders (e.g., depression) also have higher rates of suicide that are frequently alcohol related. Males are as much as four times more likely to die from suicide than females. Studies comparing Native to other populations within the same geographic regions in North America divulged, almost universally, that alcohol involvement is higher among Native suicides than among the local, non-Native people. Unfortunately, suicide is the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S. and is the third cause of death in those ages 15-24. With these disappointing statistics, we are hereby proposing that because of such a high genetic risk as supported by the work of Barr and Kidd showing that NA carriers the DRD2 A1 allele at the rate of 86%, compared to a highly screened reward deficiency free control of only 3%. It seems reasonable that early identification, especially in children, be tested with the Genetic Addiction Risk Score (GARS) and concomitantly be offered the precision pro-dopamine regulator (KB220PAM), one that matches their unique brain polymorphisms involving serotonergic, endorphinergic, glutaminergic, gabaergic and dopaminergic pathways among others. We believe that using the Precision Addiction Management (PAM) platform at an early age may be prophylactic, while in adults PAM may reduce substance craving affecting tertiary treatment and even relapse and mortality prevention.

Using the research domain criteria (RDoC) to conceptualize impulsivity and compulsivity in relation to addiction

Nomenclature for mental disorder was updated in 2013 with the publication of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5). In DSM-5, substance use disorders are framed as more dimensional. First, the distinction between abuse and dependence is replaced by substance use. Second, the addictions section now covers both substances and behavioral addictions. This contemporary move toward dimensionality and transdiagnosis in the addictions and other disorders embrace accumulating cognitive-affective neurobiological evidence that is reflected in the United States' National Institutes of Health Research Domain Criteria (NIH RDoC). The RDoC calls for the further development of transdiagnostic approaches to psychopathy and includes five domains to improve research. Additionally, the RDoC suggests that these domains can be measured in terms of specific units of analysis. In line with these suggestions, recent publications have stimulated updated neurobiological conceptualizations of two transdiagnostic concepts, namely impulsivity and compulsivity and their interactions that are applicable to addictive disorders. However, there has not yet been a review to examine the constructs of impulsivity and compulsivity in relation to addiction in light of the research-oriented RDoC. By doing so it may become clearer as to whether impulsivity and compulsivity function antagonistically, complementarily or in some other way at the behavioral, cognitive, and neural level and how this relationship underpins addiction. Thus, here we consider research into impulsivity and compulsivity in light of the transdiagnostic RDoC to help better understand these concepts and their application to evidence-based clinical intervention for addiction.

Enhanced functional connectivity and volume between cognitive and reward centers of naïve rodent brain produced by pro-dopaminergic agent KB220Z

Dopaminergic reward dysfunction in addictive behaviors is well supported in the literature. There is evidence that alterations in synchronous neural activity between brain regions subserving reward and various cognitive functions may significantly contribute to substance-related disorders. This study presents the first evidence showing that a pro-dopaminergic nutraceutical (KB220Z) significantly enhances, above placebo, functional connectivity between reward and cognitive brain areas in the rat. These include the nucleus accumbens, anterior cingulate gyrus, anterior thalamic nuclei, hippocampus, prelimbic and infralimbic loci. Significant functional connectivity, increased brain connectivity volume recruitment (potentially neuroplasticity), and dopaminergic functionality were found across the brain reward circuitry. Increases in functional connectivity were specific to these regions and were not broadly distributed across the brain. While these initial findings have been observed in drug naïve rodents, this robust, yet selective response implies clinical relevance for addicted individuals at risk for relapse, who show reductions in functional connectivity after protracted withdrawal. Future studies will evaluate KB220Z in animal models of addiction.

ADHD, Lifestyles and Comorbidities: A Call for an Holistic Perspective - from Medical to Societal Intervening Factors

The review examines Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD in its Child and Adult form) and its various presentations (Hyperactive Impulsive, Inattentive, and Combined) with a particular focus on environmental (incl. social factors), lifestyles and comorbidities. It is argued that ADHD is best understood in a holistic and interactive context and a vast empirical literature is presented to illustrate the point: Environmental factors include stress in general as well as exposure to toxins (phthalates, bisphenol A). Social factors are illustrated by effects of social deprivation and seduction to unhealthy lifestyles. Maternal lifestyle during pregnancy is pointed out (particularly her exposure to nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, and drugs, even seemingly benign medications like acetaminophen), which all tend to be related to ADHD. Family environment is discussed with respect to protective effect of (mainly authoritative and autocratic) parenting styles. Societal factors include mainly economic and political issues: income inequality and poverty (low SES is an ADHD risk factor) and a growing moral dilemma between a humanistic effort to globally spread the knowledge of ADHD and the medicalization and commercialization of the disorder. The second part of the review is devoted to ADHD related lifestyles and resulting comorbidities (e.g., food addiction and obesity, substance abuse, electronic media dependencies and conduct and personality disorders). Although ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder, its assessment and treatment are also linked to environmental, behavioral and social factors and their interactions.

Peripubertal Stress With Social Support Promotes Resilience in the Face of Aging

The peripubertal period of development is a sensitive window, during which adverse experiences can increase the risk for presentation of cognitive and affective dysfunction throughout the lifespan, especially in women. However, such experiences in the context of a supportive social environment can actually ameliorate this risk, suggesting that resilience can be programmed in early life. Affective disorders and cognitive deficits commonly emerge during aging, with many women reporting increased difficulty with prefrontal cortex (PFC)-dependent executive functions. We have developed a mouse model to examine the interaction between peripubertal experience and age-related changes in cognition and stress regulation. Female mice were exposed to peripubertal chronic stress, during which they were either individually housed or housed with social interaction. One year after this stress experience, mice were examined in tasks to access their cognitive ability and flexibility in stress reactive measures. In a test of spatial memory acquisition and reversal learning where aged females normally display a decreased performance, the females that had experienced stress with social interaction a year earlier showed improved performance in reversal learning, a measure of cognitive flexibility. Because peripuberty is a time of major PFC maturation, we performed transcriptomic and biochemical analysis of the aged PFC, in which long-term changes in microRNA expression and in myelin proteins were found. These data suggest that stress in the context of social support experienced over the pubertal window can promote epigenetic reprogramming in the brain to increase the resilience to age-related cognitive decline in females.

A Shared Molecular and Genetic Basis for Food and Drug Addiction: Overcoming Hypodopaminergic Trait/State by Incorporating Dopamine Agonistic Therapy in Psychiatry

This article focuses on the shared molecular and neurogenetics of food and drug addiction tied to the understanding of reward deficiency syndrome. Reward deficiency syndrome describes a hypodopaminergic trait/state that provides a rationale for commonality in approaches for treating long-term reduced dopamine function across the reward brain regions. The identification of the role of DNA polymorphic associations with reward circuitry has resulted in new understanding of all addictive behaviors.