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Zaff O, Wyngaarden JB, Dennison JB, Sazhin D, Chein J, McCloskey M, Alloy LB, Jarcho JM, Smith DV, Fareri DS. Social Context and Reward Sensitivity Enhance Corticostriatal Function during Experiences of Shared Rewards. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.19.562908. [PMID: 37905048 PMCID: PMC10614966 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.19.562908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Although prior research has demonstrated enhanced striatal response when sharing rewards with close social connections, less is known about how individual differences affect ventral striatal (VS) activation and connectivity when experiencing rewards within social contexts. Given that self-reported reward sensitivity and level of substance use have been associated with differences in VS activation, we set out to investigate whether these factors would be independently associated with enhancements to neural reward responses within social contexts. In this pre-registered study, participants (N=45) underwent fMRI while playing a card guessing game in which correct or incorrect guesses resulted in monetary gains and losses that were shared evenly with either a close friend, stranger (confederate), or non-human partner. Consistent with our prior work, we found increased VS activation when sharing rewards with a socially close peer as opposed to an out-of-network stranger. As self-reported reward sensitivity increased, the difference in VS response to rewards shared with friends and strangers decreased. We also found enhanced connectivity between the VS and temporoparietal junction when sharing rewards with close friends as opposed to strangers. Finally, exploratory analyses revealed that as reward sensitivity and sub-clinical substance use increase, the difference in VS connectivity with the right fusiform face area increases as a function of social context. These findings demonstrate that responsivity to the context of close friends may be tied to individual reward sensitivity or sub-clinical substance use habits; together these factors may inform predictions of risk for future mental health disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ori Zaff
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - James B. Wyngaarden
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Jeffrey B. Dennison
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Daniel Sazhin
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Jason Chein
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Michael McCloskey
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lauren B. Alloy
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Johanna M. Jarcho
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - David V. Smith
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Dominic S. Fareri
- Derner School of Psychology, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, USA
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Kuhns L, Mies G, Kroon E, Willuhn I, Lesscher H, Cousijn J. Alcohol cue reactivity in the brain: Age-related differences in the role of social processes in addiction in male drinkers. J Neurosci Res 2023; 101:1521-1537. [PMID: 37401734 PMCID: PMC10538438 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.25206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023]
Abstract
Social attunement (SA)-the tendency to harmonize behavior with the social environment-has been proposed to drive the escalation of alcohol use in adolescence, while reducing use in adulthood. Little is known about how heightened social sensitivity in adolescence may interact with neural alcohol cue reactivity-a marker of alcohol use disorder-and its relationship to alcohol use severity over time. The aims of this study were to test whether (1) adolescents and adults differ in social alcohol cue reactivity in the nucleus accumbens, anterior cingulate cortex, and right medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and (2) age moderates the relationship between social alcohol cue reactivity and social attunement, measures of drinking at baseline, and changes in drinking over time. A sample of male adolescents (16-18 years) and adults (29-35 years) completed an fMRI social alcohol cue-exposure task at baseline and an online follow-up two to three years later. No main effects of age or drinking measures were observed in social alcohol cue reactivity. However, age significantly moderated associations of social alcohol cue reactivity in the mPFC and additional regions from exploratory whole-brain analyses with SA, with a positive association in adolescents and negative association in adults. Significant age interactions emerged only for SA in predicting drinking over time. Adolescents with higher SA scores escalated drinking, while adults with higher SA scores reduced drinking. These findings warrant further research on SA as a risk and protective factor and suggest that social processes influence cue reactivity differentially in male adolescents and adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Kuhns
- Neuroscience of Addiction (NofA) Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- The Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Center (ABC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Gabry Mies
- Neuroscience of Addiction (NofA) Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Karakter, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry University Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Emese Kroon
- Neuroscience of Addiction (NofA) Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- The Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Center (ABC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ingo Willuhn
- The Amsterdam Brain and Cognition Center (ABC), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands, Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Heidi Lesscher
- Department of Population Health Sciences, unit Animals in Science and Society, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Janna Cousijn
- Neuroscience of Addiction (NofA) Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, Education & Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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Cousijn J, Mies G, Runia N, Derksen M, Willuhn I, Lesscher H. The impact of age on olfactory alcohol cue-reactivity: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study in adolescent and adult male drinkers. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2023; 47:668-677. [PMID: 36855285 DOI: 10.1111/acer.15037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adolescence is marked not only by rapid surges in the prevalence of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) but also by remarkable recovery rates, as most adolescent-onset AUDs naturally resolve over time. Little is known about the differential vulnerability of adolescents and adults. Therefore, this study aimed to unravel the moderating role of age by comparing neural alcohol cue-reactivity, an important AUD biomarker, between low-to-high beer-drinking adolescent (n = 50, 16 to 18 years), and adult (n = 51, 30 to 35 years) males matched on drinking severity. METHODS Associations between beer odor-induced brain activity and AUD diagnosis, severity of alcohol use-related problems, recent alcohol use, binge-drinking frequency, and task-induced craving were investigated across and between age groups in regions of interest thought to be central in alcohol cue-reactivity: the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and striatal subregions (nucleus accumbens and caudate putamen). These analyses were complemented by exploratory whole-brain analyses. RESULTS Pre-task beer craving increased pre-to-post task in adolescents only. Individual differences in alcohol use, binge drinking, and craving did not relate to beer odor-induced activity. Although region-of-interest analyses did not reach significance, whole-brain analyses showed that adolescents with AUD, compared with adolescents without AUD and adults with AUD, had higher beer odor-induced activity in a large mesocorticolimbic cluster encompassing the right caudate, nucleus accumbens, orbitofrontal cortex, and the olfactory sulcus. Activity in the right caudate and putamen was positively associated with the severity of alcohol use-related problems in adolescents but negatively associated in adults. CONCLUSION These findings suggest a differential role of alcohol cue-reactivity in adolescents compared with adults with AUD and highlight the need for further studies investigating the role of age in the fundamental processes underlying the development of and recovery from of AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janna Cousijn
- Neuroscience of Addiction (NofA) Lab, Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Gabry Mies
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Nora Runia
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Maik Derksen
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ingo Willuhn
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Heidi Lesscher
- Unit Animals in Science and Society, Division of Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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Beard SJ, Yoon L, Venticinque JS, Shepherd NE, Guyer AE. The brain in social context: A systematic review of substance use and social processing from adolescence to young adulthood. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2022; 57:101147. [PMID: 36030675 PMCID: PMC9434028 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2022.101147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 08/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Substance use escalates between adolescence and young adulthood, and most experimentation occurs among peers. To understand underlying mechanisms, research has focused on neural response during relevant psychological processes. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research provides a wealth of information about brain activity when processing monetary rewards; however, most studies have used tasks devoid of social stimuli. Given that adolescent neurodevelopment is sculpted by the push-and-pull of peers and emotions, identifying neural substrates is important for intervention. We systematically reviewed 28 fMRI studies examining substance use and neural responses to stimuli including social reward, emotional faces, social influence, and social stressors. We found substance use was positively associated with social-reward activity (e.g., in the ventral striatum), and negatively with social-stress activity (e.g., in the amygdala). For emotion, findings were mixed with more use linked to heightened response (e.g., in amygdala), but also with decreased response (e.g., in insula). For social influence, evidence supported both positive (e.g., cannabis and nucleus accumbens during conformity) and negative (e.g., polydrug and ventromedial PFC during peers' choices) relations between activity and use. Based on the literature, we offer recommendations for future research on the neural processing of social information to better identify risks for substance use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah J Beard
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, 267 Cousteau Pl, Davis, CA 95618, USA; Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, 301 Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
| | - Leehyun Yoon
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, 267 Cousteau Pl, Davis, CA 95618, USA.
| | - Joseph S Venticinque
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, 267 Cousteau Pl, Davis, CA 95618, USA; Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, 301 Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
| | - Nathan E Shepherd
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, 267 Cousteau Pl, Davis, CA 95618, USA.
| | - Amanda E Guyer
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, 267 Cousteau Pl, Davis, CA 95618, USA; Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, 301 Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
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Alarefi A, Wang X, Tao R, Rui Q, Gao G, Wang Y, Pang L, Liu C, Zhang X. Depicting People in Visual Cues Affects Alcohol Cue Reactivity in Male Alcohol-Dependent Patients. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12030307. [PMID: 35326264 PMCID: PMC8946691 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12030307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2021] [Revised: 01/15/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Cue reactivity is often used to study alcohol cues brain responses. Standardized image sets are used, but the effect of viewing people interacting with the alcohol drink remains unclear, which is associated with the factors of alcohol cues that influence the degree of response to alcohol stimuli. The present study used fMRI to investigate the reactivity of alcohol dependence (AD) inpatients to alcohol cues with or without human drinking behavior. Cues with a human interacting with a drink were hypothesized to increase sensorimotor activation. In total, 30 AD inpatients were asked to view pictures with a factorial design of beverage types (alcoholic vs. non-alcoholic beverages) and cue types (with or without drink action). Whole-brain analyses were performed. A correlation analysis was conducted to confirm whether the whole-brain analysis revealed cue-related brain activations correlated with problem drinking duration. The left lingual gyrus showed significant beverage types through cue type interaction, and the bilateral temporal cortex showed significant activation in response to alcohol cues depicting human drinking behavior. The right and left lingual gyrus regions and left temporal cortex were positively correlated with problem drinking duration. Sensorimotor activations in the temporal cortex may reflect self-referential and memory-based scene processing. Thus, our findings indicate these regions are associated with alcohol use and suggest them for cue exposure treatment of alcohol addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdulqawi Alarefi
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, School of Life Science, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China; (A.A.); (Y.W.); (C.L.)
| | - Xunshi Wang
- Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei Fourth People’s Hospital, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei 230017, China; (X.W.); (R.T.); (Q.R.); (G.G.)
| | - Rui Tao
- Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei Fourth People’s Hospital, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei 230017, China; (X.W.); (R.T.); (Q.R.); (G.G.)
| | - Qinqin Rui
- Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei Fourth People’s Hospital, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei 230017, China; (X.W.); (R.T.); (Q.R.); (G.G.)
| | - Guoqing Gao
- Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei Fourth People’s Hospital, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei 230017, China; (X.W.); (R.T.); (Q.R.); (G.G.)
| | - Ying Wang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, School of Life Science, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China; (A.A.); (Y.W.); (C.L.)
| | - Liangjun Pang
- Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei Fourth People’s Hospital, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei 230017, China; (X.W.); (R.T.); (Q.R.); (G.G.)
- Correspondence: (L.P.); (X.Z.); Tel.: +86-551-63607295 (X.Z.)
| | - Chialun Liu
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, School of Life Science, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China; (A.A.); (Y.W.); (C.L.)
| | - Xiaochu Zhang
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, School of Life Science, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China; (A.A.); (Y.W.); (C.L.)
- Affiliated Psychological Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei Fourth People’s Hospital, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei 230017, China; (X.W.); (R.T.); (Q.R.); (G.G.)
- Centers for Biomedical Engineering, School of Information Science and Technology, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China
- Department of Psychology, School of Humanities & Social Science, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
- Correspondence: (L.P.); (X.Z.); Tel.: +86-551-63607295 (X.Z.)
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Fogelman N, Hwang S, Sinha R, Seo D. Social Support Effects on Neural Stress and Alcohol Reward Responses. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 2021; 54:461-482. [PMID: 34734391 DOI: 10.1007/7854_2021_246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Social support (SS), or having people to depend on during times of stress, may offer an emotional and neurological buffer to problem drinking. Specifically, SS may modulate reward and stress-related brain responses to mitigate perceptions of alcohol reward and stress. There is limited evidence, however, on this topic and specifically on brain networks that may modulate SS effects on stress and alcohol reward. Here we present a review of the current literature on this topic as well as data from a large community sample of 115 social drinkers. Findings from a novel fMRI task viewing alcohol cue, stress, and neutral images, in separate blocks, while providing ratings on subjective feelings of alcohol craving, stress, and arousal are included. Lower SS significantly predicted greater alcohol craving during alcohol cue and stress conditions, higher baseline levels of stress, and greater arousal in the alcohol cue, relative to neutral condition. Remarkably, individuals with low SS showed greater reward activation (ventral medial prefrontal cortex (VmPFC) and ventral striatum) during alcohol cue exposure, while those with high SS showed no such activation (p < 0.001, family wise error corrected at 0.05). Furthermore, individuals with lower SS showed greater stress circuit (VmPFC, dorsal striatum, and periaqueductal gray) activation not observed in the high SS groups. Both groups showed increased amygdala activation under stress condition. The findings support the notion that SS is a powerful modulator of stress response and reward motivation. High SS buffers neural and subjective stress responses, while low SS potentiates greater reward seeking with higher alcohol craving and greater brain activation during alcohol cue exposure. Previous research and current results suggest the need to further explore the role of SS in those at risk of developing alcohol use disorder and assess novel prevention strategies to boost SS in at-risk drinkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nia Fogelman
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Seungju Hwang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Rajita Sinha
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Dongju Seo
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
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Groefsema MM, Mies GW, Cousijn J, Engels RCME, Sescousse G, Luijten M. Brain responses and approach bias to social alcohol cues and their association with drinking in a social setting in young adult males. Eur J Neurosci 2019; 51:1491-1503. [PMID: 31498505 PMCID: PMC7155040 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Revised: 08/11/2019] [Accepted: 08/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol is mainly consumed in social settings, in which people often adapt their drinking behaviour to that of others, also called imitation of drinking. Yet, it remains unclear what drives this drinking in a social setting. In this study, we expected to see stronger brain and behavioural responses to social compared to non-social alcohol cues, and these responses to be associated with drinking in a social setting. The sample consisted of 153 beer-drinking males, aged 18-25 years. Brain responses to social alcohol cues were measured during an alcohol cue-exposure task performed in an fMRI scanner. Behavioural responses to social alcohol cues were measured using a stimulus-response compatibility task, providing an index of approach bias towards these cues. Drinking in a social setting was measured in a laboratory mimicking a bar environment. Specific brain responses to social alcohol cues were observed in the bilateral superior temporal sulcus and the left inferior parietal lobe. There was no approach bias towards social alcohol cues specifically; however, we did find an approach bias towards alcohol (versus soda) cues in general. Brain responses and approach bias towards social alcohol cues were unrelated and not associated with actual drinking. Thus, we found no support for a relation between drinking in a social setting on the one hand, and brain cue-reactivity or behavioural approach biases to social alcohol cues on the other hand. This suggests that, in contrast to our hypothesis, drinking in a social setting may not be driven by brain or behavioural responses to social alcohol cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martine M Groefsema
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Gabry W Mies
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Janna Cousijn
- Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Guillaume Sescousse
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.,Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, INSERM U1028, CNRS, UMR5292, PSYR2 Team, Lyon, France.,CH Le Vinatier, Service Universitaire d'Addictologie, Bron, France
| | - Maartje Luijten
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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