scholarly journals A neuromarker for drug and food craving distinguishes drug users from non-users

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonie Koban ◽  
Tor Wager ◽  
Hedy Kober
Keyword(s):  
Drug Users ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Clinical Intervention ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Food Craving ◽  
Food Cues ◽  
Polysubstance Use ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Neurophysiological Mechanisms

Abstract Craving is a core feature of substance use disorders and a strong predictor of relapse. It is linked to polysubstance use, overeating, pathological gambling, and other maladaptive behaviors. Despite its utility, craving measures are based on self-report, with associated limitations related to introspective access and variability across sociocultural contexts. Objective biological markers of craving, which could reveal the neurophysiology of craving, are lacking. For example, it remains unclear whether craving for drugs and food involve similar or separable mechanisms. Across three studies (N = 101), we combined fMRI with machine-learning to identify a brain-based marker of cue-evoked drug and food craving, resulting in a cross-validated multi-system pattern (or brain signature), including ventromedial prefrontal and cingulate cortices, ventral striatum, temporal and parietal association areas, mediodorsal thalamus, and cerebellum. This signature predicted self-reported craving intensity (p < 0.002, within-person r = 0.50) and discriminated high from low craving with 78% accuracy. It also discriminated drug users versus non-users based on brain responses to drug (75% accuracy), but not food, cues. Predictive brain models trained on drug cues also transferred to food cues, and vice versa, suggesting shared neurophysiological mechanisms for drug and food craving. In conclusion, fMRI can be used to predict craving across different drug and food cues, and separate drug users from non-users. Future studies are needed to assess whether the brain signature of craving responds to clinical intervention and can predict long-term clinical outcomes.

scholarly journals Greater empathy in MDMA users

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly Carlyle ◽  
Tobias Stevens ◽  
Leah Fawaz ◽  
Beth Marsh ◽  
Sophia Kosmider ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Psychosocial Functioning ◽  
Drug Users ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Cognitive Empathy ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Social Pain ◽  
Emotional Empathy ◽  
Long Term Impact

Background: 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) is widely known for its positive acute effects on social behaviour, such as increasing empathy, whilst also attenuating the negative impact of social exclusion. However there is a scarcity of research that investigates the long-term impact of recreational MDMA use on these fundamental social processes. Method: Sixty-seven individuals were split into three groups based on their drug-use history: poly-drug MDMA users ( n = 25), poly-drug users who do not use MDMA ( n = 19), alcohol-only users ( n = 23), and were tested in an independent groups design. Participants completed both a self-report measure of emotional and cognitive empathy, along with the Multifaceted Empathy Task – a computerised assessment of empathy – and the Cyberball Game – a social exclusion paradigm. Results: MDMA users had significantly greater subjective emotional empathy, and greater cognitive empathy on the computer task compared with the poly-drug users who do not use MDMA. There were no significant differences in subjective responses to social exclusion between the groups. Indices of MDMA use did not correlate with empathy. Conclusions: Long-term MDMA users in this sample exhibited normal psychosocial functioning in regard to empathy and social pain and had higher subjective emotional empathy. This conflicts with previous suggestions that moderate, long-term MDMA use may cause heightened social distress, and is further evidence of the safety of the drug, which is relevant to considerations of its therapeutic use.

Long Term Outcome of Anorexia Nervosa

1993 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lyndall M. Jones ◽  
W.K. Halford ◽  
Roger T. Dooley
Keyword(s):  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Significant Degree ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Social Maladjustment ◽  
Term Outcome ◽  
Long Term Outcome ◽  
Clinically Significant

The long-term outcome (mean follow-up period 5.7 years) for 20 patients with anorexia nervosa was assessed on a comprehensive battery of self-report inventories and a structured clinical interview. Two thirds of the cohort were improved to a clinically significant degree at follow-up, but the majority still showed higher than normal scores on inventories of anorexic symptomatology, social maladjustment, anxiety, and hostility. The remaining one third were unimproved and demonstrated a broad range of impairment including distorted attitudes toward eating, overconcern about body shape, poor social functioning, high levels of anxiety, hostility, depression, and external locus of control. Moderate to strong correlations were found across outcome measures. Longer duration of eating difficulties before presentation was a strong predictor of poor long-term outcome, suggesting a chronic relapsing form of the disorder occurred in a subgroup of patients.

scholarly journals Inhibition of food craving is a metabolically active process in the brain in obese men

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 590-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gene-Jack Wang ◽  
Ehsan Shokri Kojori ◽  
Kai Yuan ◽  
Corinde E. Wiers ◽  
Peter Manza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Glucose Metabolism ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Food Craving ◽  
Active Process ◽  
Food Cues ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Uncontrolled Eating ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Food Stimulation

Abstract Objective Obesity is associated with impaired inhibitory control over food intake. We hypothesized that the neural circuitry underlying inhibition of food craving would be impaired in obesity. Here we assessed whether obese men show altered brain responses during attempted cognitive inhibition of craving when exposed to food cues. Methods Sixteen obese men (32 ± 8.7 years old, BMI = 38.6 ± 7.2) were compared with 11 age-matched non-obese men (BMI 24.2 ± 2.5) using PET and FDG. Brain glucose metabolism was evaluated in a food deprived state: no food stimulation, food stimulation with no inhibition (NI), and food stimulation with attempted inhibition (AI), each on a separate day. Individualized favorite food items were presented prior to and after FDG injection for 40 min. For AI, participants were asked to attempt to inhibit their desire for the food presented. Self-reports for hunger and food desire were recorded. Results Food stimulation compared with no stimulation increased glucose metabolism in inferior and superior frontal gyrus, default mode network and cerebellum, in both groups. For both groups, AI compared with NI-suppressed metabolism in right subgenual anterior cingulate, orbitofrontal areas, bilateral insula, and temporal gyri. There was a stimulation-by-group interaction effect in obese (but not in non-obese) men showing increased metabolism in pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC) and caudate during AI relative to NI. Changes in the food desire from NI to AI correlated negatively with changes in metabolism in pgACC/caudate in obese but not in non-obese men. Conclusions Obese men showed higher activation in pgACC/caudate, which are regions involved with self-regulation and emotion/reward during AI. Behavioral associations suggest that successful AI is an active process requiring more energy in obese but not in non-obese men. The additional required effort to increase cognitive control in response to food stimulation in obese compared with non-obese men may contribute to their uncontrolled eating behavior.

Individual differences in white and grey matter structure associated with verbal habits of thought

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin C. Hayes ◽  
Katherine L Alfred ◽  
Rachel Pizzie ◽  
Joshua S. Cetron ◽  
David J. M. Kraemer
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
White Matter ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Grey Matter ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Structural Integrity ◽  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Self Report ◽  
White Matter Tracts

Modality specific encoding habits account for a significant portion of individual differences reflected in functional activation during cognitive processing. Yet, little is known about how these habits of thought influence long-term structural changes in the brain. Traditionally, habits of thought have been assessed using self-report questionnaires such as the visualizer-verbalizer questionnaire. Here, rather than relying on subjective reports, we measured habits of thought using a novel behavioral task assessing attentional biases toward picture and word stimuli. Hypothesizing that verbal habits of thought are reflected in the structural integrity of white matter tracts and cortical regions of interest, we used diffusion tensor imaging and volumetric analyses to assess this prediction. Using a whole-brain approach, we show that word bias is associated with increased volume in several bilateral language regions, in both white and grey matter parcels. Additionally, connectivity within white matter tracts within an a priori speech production network increased as a function of word bias. These results demonstrate long-term structural and morphological differences associated with verbal habits of thought.

Inner Retinal Morphology and Visual Outcomes in Idiopathic Epiretinal Membrane Surgery: A Retrospective Optical Coherence Tomography Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 247412642198961
Author(s):  
Ioannis S. Dimopoulos ◽  
Michael Dollin
Keyword(s):  
Optical Coherence Tomography ◽  
Epiretinal Membrane ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Plexiform Layer ◽  
Inner Plexiform Layer ◽  
Optical Coherence ◽  
Visual Outcomes ◽  
Retinal Pathology

Purpose: Epiretinal membrane (ERM) is a common retinal finding for patients older than 50 years. Disorganization of the retinal inner layers (DRIL) has emerged as a novel predictor of poor visual acuity (VA) in eyes with inner retinal pathology. The aim of our study is to correlate preoperative DRIL with visual outcomes after ERM surgery. Methods: Medical records and optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of 81 pseudophakic patients who underwent treatment of idiopathic ERM were reviewed. Preoperative DRIL on OCT was correlated with VA at baseline and at 3 and 6 months after ERM surgery. DRIL was defined as the loss of distinction between the ganglion cell–inner plexiform layer complex, inner nuclear layer, and outer plexiform layer. DRIL severity was based on its extent within the central 2-mm region of a transfoveal B-scan (absent/mild: <one-third, severe: >one-third horizontal width). Results: Review of preoperative OCT showed severe DRIL in 41% and absent/mild DRIL in 59%. Severe DRIL was associated with worse baseline VA ( P < .001). Preoperative VA and DRIL status at baseline were both predictors of postoperative VA at follow-up time points ( P < .001). Severe DRIL was associated with significantly less improvement in VA at 6 months (–0.23 logMAR for absent/mild vs –0.14 for severe DRIL). Conclusions: Presence of severe preoperative DRIL correlates with worse baseline VA in patients with ERM and reduced VA improvement at 6 months. DRIL can be a strong predictor of long-term poor visual outcomes in ERM surgery.

Acute diet soda consumption alters brain responses to food cues in humans: A randomized, controlled, cross-over pilot study

2021 ◽  
pp. 026010602199375
Author(s):  
Olivia M. Farr
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Potential Mechanism ◽  
Food Cues ◽  
Diet Soda ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
Carbonated Water ◽  
Soda Consumption ◽  
Visual Food Cues

Background: Diet soda consumption has frequently been linked to obesity and its comorbidities in epidemiological studies. Whether this link is causal and a potential mechanism remains to be determined. Aim/Methods: This randomized, cross-over, controlled pilot study sought to determine whether there may be changes in reward-related brain activations to visual food cues after acute consumption of diet soda versus regular soda or carbonated water using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results: Diet soda as compared to carbonated water consumption increased activation of reward-related caudate to highly versus less desirable food cues. Diet soda as compared to regular soda increased reward-related insula and decreased activation of cognitive control-related dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to food cues versus non-food cues. No changes in ratings of hunger an hour after beverage consumption were observed. Conclusions: These results may suggest a potential mechanism for diet soda to increase food palatability through activation of the reward system and suppression of inhibitory control that remains to be confirmed by future studies.

scholarly journals Management of Myositis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease

Medicina ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 347
Author(s):  
Tomoyuki Fujisawa
Keyword(s):  
Interstitial Lung Disease ◽  
Lung Disease ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Calcineurin Inhibitors ◽  
Pulmonary Involvement ◽  
Trna Synthetase ◽  
Evidence Based Guidelines ◽  
Substantial Heterogeneity

Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, including polymyositis (PM), dermatomyositis (DM), and clinically amyopathic DM (CADM), are a diverse group of autoimmune diseases characterized by muscular involvement and extramuscular manifestations. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) has major pulmonary involvement and is associated with increased mortality in PM/DM/CADM. The management of PM-/DM-/CADM-associated ILD (PM/DM/CADM-ILD) requires careful evaluation of the disease severity and clinical subtype, including the ILD forms (acute/subacute or chronic), because of the substantial heterogeneity of their clinical courses. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of myositis-specific autoantibodies’ status, especially anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) and anti-aminoacyl tRNA synthetase (ARS) antibodies, in order to evaluate the clinical phenotypes and treatment of choice for PM/DM/CADM-ILD. Because the presence of the anti-MDA5 antibody is a strong predictor of a worse prognosis, combination treatment with glucocorticoids (GCs) and calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs; tacrolimus (TAC) or cyclosporin A (CsA)) is recommended for patients with anti-MDA5 antibody-positive DM/CADM-ILD. Rapidly progressive DM/CADM-ILD with the anti-MDA5 antibody is the most intractable condition, which requires immediate combined immunosuppressive therapy with GCs, CNIs, and intravenous cyclophosphamide. Additional salvage therapies (rituximab, tofacitinib, and plasma exchange) should be considered for patients with refractory ILD. Patients with anti-ARS antibody-positive ILD respond better to GC treatment, but with frequent recurrence; thus, GCs plus immunosuppressants (TAC, CsA, azathioprine, and mycophenolate mofetil) are often needed in order to achieve favorable long-term disease control. PM/DM/CADM-ILD management is still a therapeutic challenge for clinicians, as evidence-based guidelines do not exist to help with management decisions. A few prospective clinical trials have been recently reported regarding the treatment of PM/DM/CADM-ILD. Here, the current knowledge on the pharmacologic managements of PM/DM/CADM-ILD was mainly reviewed.

The Impact of Personality Disorders on Longitudinal Change in Relationship Satisfaction in Long-Term Married Couples

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan C. South ◽  
Michael J. Boudreaux ◽  
Thomas F. Oltmanns
Keyword(s):  
Marital Satisfaction ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Personality Disorders ◽  
Married Couples ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Longitudinal Change ◽  
The Impact

Personality disorders (PDs) are significantly, negatively related to marital satisfaction. We examine how maladaptive personality is related to change in marital satisfaction over time utilizing data from the St. Louis Personality and Aging Network (SPAN), a longitudinal, community-based study of personality and health in older adults. Participants were assessed at baseline for PD (self-report, informant-report, and structured interview); self- and spouse-reported relationship satisfaction assessed at baseline and five follow-ups was analyzed with latent growth curve modeling. Higher levels of PD at baseline were associated with lower self and spouse relationship satisfaction at baseline. On average, satisfaction did not change significantly over the study period, but there was significant individual variability. Higher levels of schizoid PD were protective of declines in partner's perception of satisfaction. Findings suggest that partners in long-term married unions may have adapted to the presence of their own or their spouse's level of personality pathology.

Exploring the harms arising from polysubstance use among performance and image enhancing drug users among young Australian men

2021 ◽  
pp. 100197
Author(s):  
Timothy M Piatkowski ◽  
Matthew Dunn ◽  
Katherine M White ◽  
Leanne M Hides ◽  
Patricia L Obst
Keyword(s):  
Drug Users ◽  
Polysubstance Use ◽  
Image Enhancing

scholarly journals Substance use, Unlike Dolutegravir, is Associated with Mood Symptoms in People Living with HIV

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Van de Wijer ◽  
Wouter van der Heijden ◽  
Mike van Verseveld ◽  
Mihai Netea ◽  
Quirijn de Mast ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Substance Use ◽  
Term Treatment ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Self Report ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Antiretroviral Drug ◽  
Long Term Treatment ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Side Effects

AbstractContradictory data have been reported concerning neuropsychiatric side effects of the first-line antiretroviral drug dolutegravir, which may be partly due to lack of control groups or psychiatric assessment tools. Using validated self-report questionnaires, we compared mood and anxiety (DASS-42), impulsivity (BIS-11), and substance use (MATE-Q) between dolutegravir-treated and dolutegravir-naive people living with HIV (PLHIV). We analyzed 194, mostly male, PLHIV on long-term treatment of whom 82/194 (42.3%) used dolutegravir for a median (IQR) of 280 (258) days. Overall, 51/194 (26.3%) participants reported DASS-42 scores above the normal cut-off, 27/194 (13.5%) were classified as highly impulsive, and 58/194 (29.9%) regularly used recreational drugs. Regular substance use was positively associated with depression (p = 0.012) and stress scores (p = 0.045). We observed no differences between dolutegravir-treated and dolutegravir-naive PLHIV. Our data show that depressed and anxious moods and impulsivity are common in PLHIV and associate with substance use and not with dolutegravir use.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document