Neuroanatomical Correlates of Impulsive Choices and Risky Decision Making in Young Chronic Tobacco Smokers: A Voxel-Based Morphometry Study

Introduction: Impairments in the multifaceted neuropsychological construct of cognitive impulsivity are a main feature of chronic tobacco smokers. According to the literature, these cognitive impairments are relevant for the initiation and maintenance of the smoking behavior. However, the neuroanatomical correlates of cognitive impulsivity in chronic smokers remain under-investigated.Methods: A sample of 28 chronic smokers (mean age = 28 years) not affected by polysubstance dependence and 24 matched non-smoker controls was recruited. Voxel Based Morphometry (VBM) was employed to assess Gray Matter (GM) volume differences between smokers and non-smokers. The relationships between GM volume and behavioral manifestations of impulsive choices (5 trial adjusting delay discounting task, ADT-5) and risky decision making (Cambridge Gambling Task, CGT) were also investigated.Results: VBM results revealed GM volume reductions in cortical and striatal brain regions of chronic smokers compared to non-smokers. Additionally, smokers showed heightened impulsive choices (p < 0.01, Cohen's f = 0.50) and a riskier decision- making process (p < 0.01, Cohen's f = 0.40) compared to non-smokers. GM volume reductions in the left Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) correlated with impaired impulsive and risky choices, while GM volume reductions in the left Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex (VLPFC) and Caudate correlated with heightened impulsive choices. Reduced GM volume in the left VLPFC correlated with younger age at smoking initiation (mean = 16 years).Conclusion: Smokers displayed significant GM volume reductions and related cognitive impulsivity impairments compared to non-smoker individuals. Longitudinal studies would be required to assess whether these impairments underline neurocognitive endophenotypes or if they are a consequence of tobacco exposure on the adolescent brain.

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Neural processes in antecedent anxiety modulate risk-taking behavior

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-82229-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kyle Nash ◽

Josh Leota ◽

Alex Tran

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Risk Taking ◽

Real World ◽

Anterior Insula ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Risky Decision Making ◽

Risky Decision ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Neural Processes ◽

Economic Anxiety

AbstractThough real-world decisions are often made in the shadow of economic uncertainties, work problems, relationship troubles, existential angst, etc., the neural processes involved in this common experience remain poorly understood. Here, we randomly assigned participants (N = 97) to either a poignant experience of forecasted economic anxiety or a no-anxiety control condition. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we then examined how source-localized, anxiety-specific neural activation modulated risky decision making and strategic behavior in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). Previous research demonstrates opposing effects of anxiety on risk-taking, leading to contrasting predictions. On the one hand, activity in the dorsomedial PFC/anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and anterior insula, brain regions linked with anxiety and sensitivity to risk, should mediate the effect of economic anxiety on increased risk-averse decision-making. On the other hand, activation in the ventromedial PFC, a brain region important in emotion regulation and subjective valuation in decision-making, should mediate the effect of economic anxiety on increased risky decision-making. Results revealed evidence related to both predictions. Additionally, anxiety-specific activation in the dmPFC/ACC and the anterior insula were associated with disrupted learning across the task. These results shed light on the neurobiology of antecedent anxiety and risk-taking and provide potential insight into understanding how real-world anxieties can impact decision-making processes.

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Understanding the Role of Anterior Cingulate Cortex Function in Risky Decision Making by Drug Abuser

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e582892013-001 ◽

2013 ◽

Author(s):

Diana Fishbein

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽

Cingulate Cortex ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Drug Abuser ◽

Risky Decision Making ◽

Risky Decision

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Risky decision making and the anterior cingulate cortex in abstinent drug abusers and nonusers

Cognitive Brain Research ◽

10.1016/j.cogbrainres.2004.12.010 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 23 (1) ◽

pp. 119-136 ◽

Cited By ~ 104

Author(s):

Diana H. Fishbein ◽

Diana L. Eldreth ◽

Christopher Hyde ◽

John A. Matochik ◽

Edythe D. London ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽

Cingulate Cortex ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Drug Abusers ◽

Risky Decision Making ◽

Risky Decision

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Does Chronic Cannabis Use Impact Risky Decision-Making: An Examination of fMRI Activation and Effective Connectivity?

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2020.599256 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

David R. Raymond ◽

Adrian Paneto ◽

Karmen K. Yoder ◽

Brian F. O'Donnell ◽

Joshua W. Brown ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Legal Status ◽

Effective Connectivity ◽

The United States ◽

Cannabis Use ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Risky Decision Making ◽

Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽

Risky Decision ◽

Functional Pathway

With the increase in use of cannabis and its shifting legal status in the United States, cannabis use has become an important research focus. While studies of other drug populations have shown marked increases in risky decision-making, the literature on cannabis users is not as clear. The current study examined the performance of 17 cannabis users and 14 non-users on the Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART) using behavioral, fMRI and effective connectivity methods. Significant attenuation was found in a functional pathway projecting from the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) in cannabis users compared to non-using controls as well as decreases in risk-taking behaviors. These findings suggest that cannabis users may process and evaluate risks and rewards differently than non-users.

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Decision Making under Risk Condition in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: A Behavioural and fMRI Study

Behavioural Neurology ◽

10.1155/2010/743141 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 131-143 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Kirsten Labudda ◽

Matthias Brand ◽

Markus Mertens ◽

Isabelle Ollech ◽

Hans J. Markowitsch ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Decision Making ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Healthy Subjects ◽

Neural Correlates ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Risky Decision Making ◽

Decision Making Under Risk ◽

Risky Decision ◽

Explicit Information

We aimed to study whether previously described impairment in decision making under risky conditions in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) is affected by deficits in using information about potential incentives or by processing feedback (in terms of fictitious gains and losses following each decision). Additionally, we studied whether the neural correlates of using explicit information in decision making under risk differ between PD patients and healthy subjects. We investigated ten cognitively intact PD patients and twelve healthy subjects with the Game of Dice Task (GDT) to assess risky decision making, and with an fMRI paradigm to analyse the neural correlates of information integration in the deliberative decision phase. Behaviourally, PD patients showed selective impairment in the GDT but not on the fMRI task that did not include a feedback component. Healthy subjects exhibited lateral prefrontal, anterior cingulate and parietal activations when integrating decision-relevant information. Despite similar behavioural patterns on the fMRI task, patients exhibited reduced parietal activation. Behavioural results suggest that PD patients’ deficits in risky decision making are dominated by impaired feedback utilization not compensable by intact cognitive functions. Our fMRI results suggest similarities but also differences in neural correlates when using explicit information for the decision process, potentially indicating different strategy application even if the interfering feedback component is excluded.

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