Kirschner, M;
Sladky, R;
Haugg, A;
Stämpfli, P;
Jehli, E;
Hodel, M;
Engeli, E;
... Herdener, M; + view all
(2018)
Self-regulation of the dopaminergic reward circuit in cocaine users with mental imagery and neurofeedback.
EBioMedicine
10.1016/j.ebiom.2018.10.052.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Enhanced drug-related reward sensitivity accompanied by impaired sensitivity to non-drug related rewards in the mesolimbic dopamine system are thought to underlie the broad motivational deficits and dysfunctional decision-making frequently observed in cocaine use disorder (CUD). Effective approaches to modify this imbalance and reinstate non-drug reward responsiveness are urgently needed. Here, we examined whether cocaine users (CU) can use mental imagery of non-drug rewards to self-regulate the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra (VTA/SN). We expected that obsessive and compulsive thoughts about cocaine consumption would hamper the ability to self-regulate the VTA/SN activity and tested if real-time fMRI (rtfMRI) neurofeedback (NFB) can improve self-regulation of the VTA/SN. METHODS: Twenty-two CU and 28 healthy controls (HC) were asked to voluntarily up-regulate VTA/SN activity with non-drug reward imagery alone, or combined with rtfMRI NFB. RESULTS: On a group level, HC and CU were able to activate the dopaminergic midbrain and other reward regions with reward imagery. In CU, the individual ability to self-regulate the VTA/SN was reduced in those with more severe obsessive-compulsive drug use. NFB enhanced the effect of reward imagery but did not result in transfer effects at the end of the session. CONCLUSION: CU can voluntary activate their reward system with non-drug reward imagery and improve this ability with rtfMRI NFB. Combining mental imagery and rtFMRI NFB has great potential for modifying the maladapted reward sensitivity and reinstating non-drug reward responsiveness. This motivates further work to examine the use of rtfMRI NFB in the treatment of CUD.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Self-regulation of the dopaminergic reward circuit in cocaine users with mental imagery and neurofeedback |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ebiom.2018.10.052 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2018.10.052 |
| Language: | Finnish |
| Additional information: | © 2018 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Cocaine use disorder, Dopamine, Mental imagery, Neurofeedback, Real-time fMRI, Reward sensitivity, Treatment |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Division of Psychiatry |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10061477 |
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