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Cortical activation during delay discounting in abstinent methamphetamine dependent individuals

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Abstract

Background

Methamphetamine (MA)-dependent individuals prefer smaller immediate over larger delayed rewards in delay discounting (DD) tasks. Human and animal data implicate ventral (amygdala, ventral striatum, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex insula) and dorsal (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and posterior parietal cortex) systems in DD decisions. The ventral system is hypothesized to respond to the salience and immediacy of rewards while the dorsal system is implicated in the process of comparison and choice.

Methods

We used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging to probe the neural correlates of DD in 19 recently abstinent MA-dependent patients and 17 age- and gender-matched controls.

Results

Hard DD choices were associated with greatest activation in bilateral middle cingulate, posterior parietal cortex (PPC), and the right rostral insula. Control subjects showed more activation than MA patients bilaterally in the precuneus and in the right caudate nucleus, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Magnitude of discounting was correlated with activity in the amygdala, DLPFC, posterior cingulate cortex and PPC.

Conclusions

Our findings were consistent with a model wherein dorsal cognitive systems modulate the neural response of ventral regions. Patients addicted to MA, who strongly prefer smaller immediate over larger delayed rewards, activate the dorsal cognitive control system in order to overcome their preference. Activation of the amygdala during choice of delayed rewards was associated with a greater degree of discounting, suggesting that heavily discounting MA-dependent individuals may be more responsive to the negative salience of delayed rewards than controls.

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Acknowledgments

Supported by the Medical Research Foundation of Oregon, Department of Veterans Affairs Merit Review Program (WFH), Stanley Medical Research Institute (MSH), NIH grants P50 DA018165 (WFH, SHM, BHM), and DA015543 (SHM).

Financial Disclosures

None of the authors reported any biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mental Health and Clinical Neurosciences Division P35C, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 3710 SW US Veterans Hospital Road, Portland, OR, 97239, USA

    William F. Hoffman & Marilyn S. Huckans

  2. Research Service, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland, OR, USA

    William F. Hoffman, Daniel L. Schwartz & Marilyn S. Huckans

  3. Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    Alexander A. Stevens & Suzanne H. Mitchell

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    William F. Hoffman, Daniel L. Schwartz, Marilyn S. Huckans, Bentson H. McFarland, Gal Meiri, Alexander A. Stevens & Suzanne H. Mitchell

  5. Methamphetamine Abuse Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA

    William F. Hoffman, Gal Meiri & Suzanne H. Mitchell

  6. Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, Portland, OR, USA

    Bentson H. McFarland

  7. Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-sheva, Israel

    Gal Meiri

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  1. William F. Hoffman
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Correspondence to William F. Hoffman.

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Hoffman, W.F., Schwartz, D.L., Huckans, M.S. et al. Cortical activation during delay discounting in abstinent methamphetamine dependent individuals. Psychopharmacology 201, 183–193 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-008-1261-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-008-1261-1

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