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Brain activation during the Stroop task in adolescents with severe substance and conduct problems: A pilot study
Abstract
Although many neuroimaging studies have examined changes in brain function in adults with substance use disorders, far fewer have examined adolescents. This study investigated patterns of brain activation in adolescents with severe substance and conduct problems (SCP) compared to controls.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 1.5Tesla assessed brain activation in 12 adolescent males with SCP, ranging in age from 14 to 18, and 12 controls similar in age, gender, and neighborhood while performing the attentionally demanding Stroop task.
Even though the adolescents with SCP performed as well as the controls, they activated a more extensive set of brain structures for incongruent (e.g., "red" in blue ink) versus congruent (e.g. "red" in red ink) trials. These regions included parahippocampal regions bilaterally, posterior regions involved in language-related processing, right-sided medial prefrontal areas, and subcortical regions including the thalamus and caudate.
These preliminary results suggest that the neural mechanisms of attentional control in youth with SCP differ from youth without such problems. This difficulty may prevent SCP youth from ignoring salient but distracting information in the environment, such as drug-related information.
... In terms of functional brain activity, adolescents with comorbid CD and SUDs differ from controls in their activation responses to various cognitive tasks. On the Stroop task, a measure of cognitive interference inhibition (Stroop, 1935), for example, adolescents with severe SUD and CD showed stronger activation in left superior temporal gyrus, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, and caudate than controls during incongruent compared versus congruent trials (Banich et al., 2007). Although the comorbid group showed comparable task performance to controls, these findings suggest differences in neural processes of inhibitory control between adolescents with SUD and CD (Banich et al., 2007). ...
... On the Stroop task, a measure of cognitive interference inhibition (Stroop, 1935), for example, adolescents with severe SUD and CD showed stronger activation in left superior temporal gyrus, bilateral parahippocampal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, and caudate than controls during incongruent compared versus congruent trials (Banich et al., 2007). Although the comorbid group showed comparable task performance to controls, these findings suggest differences in neural processes of inhibitory control between adolescents with SUD and CD (Banich et al., 2007). ...
... The default mode network might be of particular interest to CD and SUD. This collection of areas involved in passive state (Raichle, 2015), has also been linked to social cognition (Mars et al., 2012;Schilbach, Eickhoff, Rotarska-Jagiela, Fink, & Vogeley, 2008) and involved regions (such as the middle temporal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, and precuneus) have shown differential BOLD response compared to controls in task-state fMRI (Banich et al., 2007;M. S. Dalwani et al., 2014). ...
Adolescence is a period of rapid neural and behavioral development that often precipitates substance use, substance use disorders (SUDs), and other psychopathology. While externalizing disorders have been closely linked to SUD epidemiologically, the comorbidity of internalizing disorders and SUD is less well understood. Neuroimaging studies can be used to measure structural and functional developments in the brain that mediate the relationship between psychopathology and SUD in adolescence. Externalizing disorders and SUD are both associated with structural and functional changes in the basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex in adolescence. The neural mechanisms underlying internalizing disorders and SUD are less clear, but evidence points to involvement of the amygdala and prefrontal cortex. We also highlight independent contributions of SUD, which may vary in certain ways by the substances assessed. A deeper understanding of the neural basis of the relationship between psychopathology and SUD will allow for more informed interventions in this critical developmental stage.
... While altered response inhibition has been observed in adolescents with DBD (Prateeksha et al., 2014;Hwang et al., 2016), results are inconsistent in regards to the direction of findings. Some studies measuring response inhibition report no differences in performance of CD or DBD youths (Banich et al., 2007;Rubia et al., 2008Rubia et al., , 2010b. Others indicate higher error rates and/or longer reaction times (RTs) (Rubia et al., 2009a;Euler et al., 2014;Prateeksha et al., 2014;Hwang et al., 2016). ...
... Most commonly, alterations in neural recruitment in frontal and limbic lobes (including insula, amygdala, and anterior cingulate) are reported Sterzer and Stadler, 2009;Blair, 2010;Rubia, 2011;Raschle et al., 2015;Hwang et al., 2016), which are likely to depend on the levels of CU traits (Blair, 2010;Baker et al., 2015). Previous studies investigating response inhibition (e.g., stop, Simon, switch, or Stroop tasks) in CD have revealed decreased and increased neuronal activity in medial prefrontal cortex, insula, cingulate gyrus, temporoparietal junction, subcortical regions, and occipital lobe (Banich et al., 2007;Rubia et al., 2008Rubia et al., , 2009aRubia et al., , 2010b. To our knowledge, only one neuroimaging study has yet directly tested the interaction of emotion processing and response inhibition in DBD youths. ...
... Contrary to our hypothesis and some previous investigations (Rubia et al., 2009b;Euler et al., 2014;Prateeksha et al., 2014) we did not detect group differences in RTs. However, research has not been conclusive to date and the present finding is in accordance with other studies (Banich et al., 2007;Rubia et al., 2008Rubia et al., , 2009aRubia et al., , 2010b. Increased RTs for neutral compared to negative trials and for incongruent compared to congruent trials were detected across all participants. ...
Conduct disorder (CD) is a psychiatric disorder of childhood and adolescence which has been linked to deficient emotion processing and regulation. The behavioral and neuronal correlates targeting the interaction of emotion processing and response inhibition are still under investigation. Whole-brain event-related fMRI was applied during an affective Stroop task in 39 adolescents with CD and 39 typically developing adolescents (TD). Participants were presented with an emotional stimulus (negative/neutral) followed by a Stroop task with varying cognitive load (congruent/incongruent/blank trials). fMRI analysis included standard preprocessing, region of interest analyses (amygdala, insula, ventromedial prefrontal cortex) and whole-brain analyses based on a 2(group) × 2(emotion) × 3(task) full-factorial ANOVA. Adolescents with CD made significantly more errors, while reaction times did not significantly differ compared to TD. Additionally, we observed a lack of downregulation of left amygdala activity in response to incongruent trials and increased anterior insula activity for CD relative to TD during affective Stroop task processing [cluster-level family-wise error-corrected (p < 0.05)]. Even though no three-way interaction (group × emotion × task) interaction was detected, the findings presented still provide evidence for altered neuronal underpinnings of the interaction of emotion processing and response inhibition in CD. Moreover, our results may corroborate previous evidence of emotion dysregulation as a core dysfunction in CD. Future studies shall focus on investigating the interaction of emotion processing and response inhibition in CD subgroups (e.g., variations in callous-unemotional traits, impulsivity, or anxiety).
... Neural correlates of response inhibition have similarly been investigated in the context of other important adolescent risk behaviors such as alcohol and cannabis use using the Stroop task, another widely studied and empirically robust measure of response inhibition (Banich et al., 2007;Hatchard, Fried, Hogan, Cameron, & Smith, 2014;Hatchard et al., 2015). Results of these studies have shown a pattern whereby adolescent substance users and nonusers achieved equivalent Stroop performance, but differed significantly with respect to their neural activation as they performed the task. ...
... fMRI-based evaluations of response inhibition could provide the missing link regarding why many adolescents may be aware of the risks associated with unprotected sex and the protective efficacy of condoms, yet often do not translate this knowledge into prudent sexual decision making. The purpose of this study was thus to provide data to extend the nascent field of response inhibition in the context of adolescent risky sex to a large ethnically diverse sample of high-risk adolescents using a different empirically validated response inhibition task, the Stroop (Andrews-Hanna et al., 2011), which has been used in multiple fMRI studies of other adolescent risk behaviors (Banich et al., 2007;Hatchard et al., 2014Hatchard et al., , 2015Thayer et al., 2015). Selection of the Stroop allowed for the expansion of construct validity for the measurement of response inhibition beyond that established by the two previous studies, which both used a similar go/no-go task. ...
... A review of the fMRI literature on neural correlates of response inhibition using different versions of the Stroop task found that more difficult versions of the task required greater recruitment of areas involved in response inhibition, including the DLPFC, than did less difficult versions of the task, resulting in a positive correlation between Stroop task difficulty and BOLD activation across multiple studies (Mitchell, 2005). Our findings also replicate the results of previous literature that used the Stroop task to investigate neural correlates of response inhibition in the context of other adolescent risk behaviors and similarly found that greater risk behavior was associated with increased BOLD activation in the absence of differences in Stroop task performance (Banich et al., 2007;Hatchard et al., 2014Hatchard et al., , 2015. As in these previous studies, our results suggest sexually risky adolescents may have more difficulty inhibiting their prepotent responses, and may therefore require greater compensatory recruitment of inhibitory brain regions to achieve the same inhibitory performance as their less sexually risky peers. ...
Adolescence is a neurodevelopmental period of heightened sexual risk taking. Neuroimaging can help elucidate crucial neurocognitive mechanisms underlying adolescent sexual risk behavior, yet few empirical studies have investigated this neural link. To address this gap in the literature, we examined the association between neurocognitive function during response inhibition—a known correlate of risk behaviors—and frequency of intercourse without a condom among adolescents. We examined the correlation between condom use and fMRI-based Stroop response in a large ethnically diverse sample of high-risk adolescents (n = 171). Partially replicating previous literature, sexual risk was positively correlated with blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) activation in the middle frontal gyrus during response inhibition, highlighting the relevance of this region during risky sexual decision making within this age group.
... Regular marijuana users showed increased activation during a counting Stroop in several regions not typically observed during Stroop interference (e.g., rolandic operculum, supplementary motor area; Hatchard et al., 2014). Adolescents enrolled in an addiction treatment program showed similar behavioral performance as control participants, but the substance-using group activated additional parahippocampal, medial prefrontal, posterior, and subcortical regions during incongruent versus congruent trials (Banich et al., 2007). A similar pattern was observed among adolescents with a family history of alcoholism, such that family-history positive adolescents showed greater frontolimbic activation in the absence of differences in task performance (Silveri et al., 2011). ...
... Further, those few studies have been limited to small sample sizes. A strength of this study is the strong variability of substance use within this sample, which facilitated including alcohol and marijuana use as continuous factors in regression analyses rather than using dichotomous grouping variables as has typically been done in prior studies (e.g., Banich et al., 2007). Moreover, each model included covariates for age, gender, years of education, and mean framewise displacement. ...
... In terms of the Stroop effect, adolescents with greater alcohol use showed less activation during the interference condition across clusters in bilateral cuneus and precuneus, and right and left superior temporal gyrus. These results contrast with prior Stroop studies, in which behavioral performance did not differ between substance-using and control participants, but additional widespread brain regions were activated during incongruent versus congruent trials for substance users (e.g., Banich et al., 2007;Hatchard et al., 2015). One possibility for these differing patterns is that the adolescents in other studies were recruited to participate in treatment programs to reduce substance use, which might account for increased general engagement or increasing cognitive control with treatment (Banich et al., 2007;Krishnan-Sarin et al., 2013). ...
Despite studies showing the relevance of different decision-making abilities, including response inhibition, to likelihood of using substances during adolescence, few have examined these neural processes among high-risk, substance-using youth. The current study explored associations between alcohol and marijuana use and functional activation differences during Stroop performance among a large sample (N=80) of ethnically-diverse, high-risk youth in an fMRI-based task. In the absence of associations between substance use and task behavioral performance, adolescents with greater alcohol use showed less activation during the more cognitively difficult portion of the task across clusters in bilateral cuneus and precuneus, and right and left superior temporal gyrus. No associations were observed with marijuana use. The current results may suggest neural patterns of deactivation in regions important for cognitive control, such that alcohol use may confer additional risk for future decreased inhibition among these high-risk adolescents. The ability to inhibit prepotent responses has been shown to predict later response to treatment, and early interventions to encourage further development of cognitive control could represent promising options for treatment.
... Moreover, these results reflect the view in the current literature that neural vulnerabilities exist in at-risk individuals even prior to the initiation of substance use (Everitt et al., 2008;Wetherill et al., 2013). Banich et al. (2007) used fMRI to compare adolescents with severe substance and conduct problems to controls on the colorword Stroop task. Results indicated clear group differences with respect to brain activity, with patients demonstrating increased activity, compared to controls, in the left hemisphere, including the superior frontal gyrus, middle and superior temporal gyri, caudate, and thalamus, and bilaterally in the parahippocampal gyrus. ...
... Although pertinent, results from both of these fMRI studies are confounded by the sample population. For example, the Banich et al. (2007) patients were all male and were in treatment programs for both substance abuse (of potentially more than just alcohol) and conduct disorder. Similarly, Tapert et al. (2004) used only females with heavy substance abuse. ...
... Given that our sample had not met criteria for a substance abuse disorder, this is not surprising. Another study, by Banich et al. (2007), examined the Stroop task in a group of adolescents with severe substance abuse and conduct disorder and reported similar, more extensive parallels with our findings. In particular, in both studies performance equivalence was observed between users and controls, but users activated a greater range of brain structures for incongruent versus congruent trials. ...
... In this context, it is worth considering the fMRI studies investigating the performance of youth with conduct problems on response inhibition tasks (Banich et al., 2007;Hwang et al., 2016a;Marsh et al., 2011;Rubia et al., 2010Rubia et al., , 2009aRubia et al., ,b, 2008. Several studies that examined different paradigms involving response inhibition reported intact behavioral performance and no group differences in recruitment of regions implicated in response control (inferior frontal gyrus/anterior insula cortex or pre-supplementary motor area) (Banich et al., 2007;Marsh et al., 2011;Rubia et al., 2010Rubia et al., , 2009aRubia et al., , 2008. ...
... In this context, it is worth considering the fMRI studies investigating the performance of youth with conduct problems on response inhibition tasks (Banich et al., 2007;Hwang et al., 2016a;Marsh et al., 2011;Rubia et al., 2010Rubia et al., , 2009aRubia et al., ,b, 2008. Several studies that examined different paradigms involving response inhibition reported intact behavioral performance and no group differences in recruitment of regions implicated in response control (inferior frontal gyrus/anterior insula cortex or pre-supplementary motor area) (Banich et al., 2007;Marsh et al., 2011;Rubia et al., 2010Rubia et al., , 2009aRubia et al., , 2008. However, it should be noted that several of these studies reported reduced activity in other regions, not tightly related to response control, in youth with conduct problems (see Table 1). ...
In this paper, we review fMRI work on neuro-cognitive systems that are considered to be dysfunctional in individuals with conduct problems (i.e., individuals with Conduct Disorder (CD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) or antisocial behavior without formal clinical diagnosis). These are: empathy, the acute threat response, reinforcement-based decision-making, response inhibition and the Default Mode Network. Evidence regarding the Default Mode Network is somewhat inconsistent and its functional role/the symptom sets consequent on its dysfunction remain underspecified. However, dysfunctions in the other four neuro-cognitive systems are associated with symptom sets seen in individuals with conduct problems.
... Maturation of cognitive-control processes and related neural circuitry are ongoing throughout adolescence and is not complete until early adulthood (Giedd, 2004;Tottenham et al., 2011;Hardee et al., 2014;Raznahan et al., 2014;Pfefferbaum et al., 2015), and this is hypothesized to contribute to tobacco-and other substance-use initiation during this time (Chambers et al., 2003;Casey et al., 2008;Bava and Tapert, 2010;Herting et al., 2010;Galvan et al., 2011;Casey, 2014;Lydon et al., 2014;Heitzeg et al., 2015). Adolescent substance-users demonstrate increased engagement of cortical and subcortical brain regions during cognitive-control (Stroop) task performance when compared to their non-substanceusing counterparts, but do not differ in behavioral task performance, suggesting decreased cognitive efficiency (Banich et al., 2007). Similar findings have been reported in adolescents family-history-positive for alcohol-use disorders (Silveri et al., 2011), raising the possibility that decreased efficiency of cognitive-control-related neural circuitry may be a vulnerability factor for alcohol and substance misuse. ...
... The Stroop task is a well-validated probe of 'top-down' cognitive-control circuitry and is further associated with activation of limbic reward regions in adolescents and adults Banich et al., 2007;Silveri et al., 2011;Worhunsky et al., 2013). Consistent with this, robust effects of Stroop-task performance on neural responses within the Acc, IFG, insula and VS (a priori ROIs) were seen at both pre-and post-treatment. ...
Background
Adolescence is a crucial time for initiation of tobacco-smoking. Developing more effective treatment interventions for tobacco-smoking in youth is therefore critical to reduce smoking rates in both adolescent and adult populations. Elucidation of the neural mechanisms of successful behavioral change (abstinence) will allow for improvement of therapies based on known brain mechanisms.
Methods
Twenty-one adolescent tobacco-smokers (14–19 years) participated in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during performance of a cognitive control (Stroop) task prior to randomization to smoking cessation treatment (trial of combined nicotine replacement therapy/placebo and contingency management for attendance/abstinence; NCT01145001). Fourteen adolescents also participated in fMRI scanning following completion of the six-week trial. fMRI data were analyzed using random-effects models in SPM12. Paired t-tests were used to identify group-level changes (main effect of treatment exposure) in neural functional responses. Regression models were used to identify individual-level changes associated with treatment-outcomes (percent days abstinent, maximum days of consecutive abstinence).
Results
Main effects of Stroop task performance (contrast of incongruent versus congruent trials) were seen across a priori ROIs at both pre- and post-treatment (pFWE < 0.05). At the group-level, no changes in neural responses were found following treatment. However, intra-individual reductions in Stroop-related activity (within the insula and anterior cingulate) were positively associated with measures of smoking abstinence during treatment (pFWE < 0.05).
Conclusions
Abstinence from tobacco during smoking cessation treatment among adolescents is associated with cognitive-control related reductions in neural activity within specific regions (anterior cingulate, insula), suggesting that increases in cognitive efficiency may underlie optimal treatment responses in this population.
... More recently, research has been conducted using the emotional Stroop task to examine patterns in bias scores (Stroop interference) of violent and sexual offenders using sexual word stimuli . Table 1 Depression Hill & Knowles (1991); Klieger & Cordner (1990); Segal, Truchon, Horowitz, Gemar & Guirguis (1995) Addictions Banich et al. (2007); Cox, Fadardi & Pothos (2006); ; ; ; Conduct disorder Dolan (2007); , 2004 18 A consistent finding with all variations of the emotional Stroop task is that people have difficulty ignoring the word meaning while naming the colour (Johnson & Hasher, 1987;Salo, Henik, & Robertson, 2001). It is then not surprising that when the word stimuli directly relates to the participant, higher response latencies result (Logan & Goetsch, 1993). ...
... Most recently, researchers have turned to the presentation of Stroop stimuli in MRI machines (Adleman et al., 2002;Banich et al., 2007;Price, Beech & Allen, 2010) to examine the additional component of brain patterns that occur when individuals are prevented from completing an automatic task (i.e., simply reading the word presented). Functional neuroimaging techniques are used to identify which brain regions are most active while completing specified tasks. ...
... AQ1 Please add Dalgleish 2005 to the reference list. AQ2 Adleman et al. 2002; Banich 2007; Whalen et al. 1998 ...
... Its use with samples of violent and sexual offenders suggests that the emotional Stroop technique holds promise; however, the research needs to progress to a stage where the Stroop task is able to yield significant differences between offender types (Price & Hanson, 2007; Smith & Waterman, 2004). Most recently, researchers have turned to the presentation of Stroop stimuli in MRI machines (Adleman et al., 2002; Banich et al., 2007; Price, Beech, & Allen, 2010) to examine the additional component of brain patterns that occur when individuals are prevented from completing an automatic task (i.e. simply reading the word presented). ...
Assessing the implicit attitudes and beliefs of offenders has proved difficult over decades of work and research with offender samples. The purpose of this paper is to outline the research related to the use of the emotional Stroop task and to encourage researchers and practitioners to use it as a measure to assess the implicit attitudes of offenders within their assessments. We consider the factors that may influence Stroop results along with the research considerations that need to be taken into account when using an emotional Stroop paradigm. Currently, a significant limitation of the emotional Stroop task is a lack of standard word stimulus sets that are able to distinguish between offender types. This limitation could seriously impede further development of this tool. Suggestions for future research are proposed.
... Only a few studies have compared brain activation in ASD youths and controls. ASD youths did show greater activation in amygdala and regions of the default network while performing the Stroop task [24]. In a go/no-go task marijuana-using youths (without CD) had more activation frontally (and elsewhere) than controls [25]. ...
... ,0.05). In analyses expected to have less power (comparing 2 groups, and/or examining fewer trials), we used the cluster-level FWE correction (AFNI's AlphaSim program [51]), as used previously by us [24] and by others publishing in PLoS One or other excellent journals (e.g.,525354555657). In comparison with voxel-level FWE, cluster-level FWE controls for false-positive results and achieves p corr ,0.05 by simultaneously requiring a less significant difference in activation at each individual voxel (p uncorr. ...
Adolescents with conduct and substance problems ("Antisocial Substance Disorder" (ASD)) repeatedly engage in risky antisocial and drug-using behaviors. We hypothesized that, during processing of risky decisions and resulting rewards and punishments, brain activation would differ between abstinent ASD boys and comparison boys.
We compared 20 abstinent adolescent male patients in treatment for ASD with 20 community controls, examining rapid event-related blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) responses during functional magnetic resonance imaging. In 90 decision trials participants chose to make either a cautious response that earned one cent, or a risky response that would either gain 5 cents or lose 10 cents; odds of losing increased as the game progressed. We also examined those times when subjects experienced wins, or separately losses, from their risky choices. We contrasted decision trials against very similar comparison trials requiring no decisions, using whole-brain BOLD-response analyses of group differences, corrected for multiple comparisons. During decision-making ASD boys showed hypoactivation in numerous brain regions robustly activated by controls, including orbitofrontal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices, anterior cingulate, basal ganglia, insula, amygdala, hippocampus, and cerebellum. While experiencing wins, ASD boys had significantly less activity than controls in anterior cingulate, temporal regions, and cerebellum, with more activity nowhere. During losses ASD boys had significantly more activity than controls in orbitofrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, brain stem, and cerebellum, with less activity nowhere.
Adolescent boys with ASD had extensive neural hypoactivity during risky decision-making, coupled with decreased activity during reward and increased activity during loss. These neural patterns may underlie the dangerous, excessive, sustained risk-taking of such boys. The findings suggest that the dysphoria, reward insensitivity, and suppressed neural activity observed among older addicted persons also characterize youths early in the development of substance use disorders.
... Takagi et al. [10]) or only found differences in task-related brain activity in at-risk and treatment samples (e.g. previous works [11][12][13]). Similarly, AB has been identified in cannabis users ranging from life-time users to those in treatment for CUD [14][15][16], while others do not observe AB using a cannabis Stroop even in near-daily users and those in treatment for CUD [17][18][19]. ...
Background and aim:
Cognitive and motivational processes are thought to underlie cannabis use disorder (CUD), but research assessing how cognitive processes (e.g. interference control (IC)) interact with implicit (e.g. attentional bias (AB)) and explicit motivation (i.e. craving) is lacking. We assessed the presence of AB in cannabis users with varying use severity and tested models of moderation, mediation, and moderated mediation to assess how AB, craving, and IC interact in their association with measures of cannabis use.
Design:
Cross-sectional.
Setting and participants:
Eight studies performed by our lab in the Netherlands including never-sporadic, occasional (≤1/month), and regular cannabis users (≥2/week), and individuals in treatment for CUD were combined (N = 560; 71% male).
Measurements:
Studies included a Classic Stroop task (IC), a Cannabis Stroop task (AB), and measures of session induced and average session craving. Both heaviness of cannabis use (grams/week) and severity of use related problems were included.
Findings:
Only those in treatment for CUD showed an AB to cannabis (p =.019) and group differences were only observed when comparing CUD with never-sporadic users (p =.007). In occasional and regular users, IC was negatively associated with heaviness (β = .015, p <.001), but not severity of use. Average session craving (exploratory), but not session induced craving (confirmatory), mediated this association between AB and heaviness (β = .050, p =.011) as well as severity of use (β = .083, p =.009); higher AB was associated with heavier use and more severe problems through increased craving.
Conclusions:
Attentional bias (AB) only appears to be present in cannabis users with the most severe problems and craving appears to mediate the association between AB and both heaviness and severity of use in occasional and regular users. The association of interference control (IC) with heaviness but not severity of use may point to sub-acute intoxication effects of cannabis use on IC.
... 10) or only found differences in task-related brain activity in at-risk and treatment samples (e.g. [11][12][13]. ...
Cognitive and motivational processes are thought to underlie cannabis use disorder (CUD), but research assessing how cognitive processes (e.g. interference control (IC)) interact with implicit motivational processes (e.g. attentional bias (AB)) and explicit motivation (i.e. craving) is lacking. We assessed the presence of AB in cannabis users with varying use severity and tested models of moderation, mediation, and moderated mediation to assess how AB, craving, and IC interact in their association with measures of cannabis use.
... The validity and reliability of the inhibition score of the Stroop task has been supported (Strauss et al., 2006;Stroop, 1935) and the test has been widely used with samples with DB (e.g. Ogilvie et al., 2011;Banich et al., 2007;Woltering et al., 2016). Higher scores were indicative of better inhibition. ...
This study examined the influence of executive functions on the association between callous-unemotional traits and severity and type of childhood disruptive behavior. Eighty one children aged 8–12 years and their parents participated in the study. We assessed children’s callous-unemotional traits, executive functions, and two indices of disruptive behavior. Callous-unemotional traits and parent ratings of executive dysfunction were uniquely correlated with elevated conduct problems and oppositional and defiant behavior. Neither performance-based measures, nor parent ratings of executive function, moderated the association between callous-unemotional traits and disruptive behavior. Study findings suggest that executive functions and callous-unemotional traits may impact children’s behavior independently.
... research indicates that EF provides the foundation for children's cognitive, social, and emotional development (Best, Miller, & Jones, 2009;Diamond, 2013;Zelazo & Müller, 2014), and it is a significant predictor of student achievement (Ahmed, Tang, Waters, & Davis-Kean, 2018). Conversely, EF deficits have been linked to maladaptive behaviors (Ellis, Weiss, & Lochman, 2009), mental health and neurological disorders (Banich et al., 2007;Kofler et al., 2011;Kyte, Goodyer, & Sahakian, 2005), and academic difficulties (Booth, Boyle, & Kelly, 2010;Gathercole & Pickering, 2000;Toll, Van der Ven, Kroesbergen, & Van Luit, 2011). As such, EF skills are vital for children's short-and long-term success. ...
Executive functioning (EF) is key to students’ school and lifelong success and reflects both genetic predisposition and sensitivity to negative and positive experiences. Yet there is less available literature investigating the relationship between typical experiences within school environments and student EF development. This is unfortunate, as school environments are potentially more malleable than home- or community-based factors. Thus, the purpose of this article is to present a systematic review of the literature from 2000 to 2017 to understand how school-, classroom-, and dyadic-level (teacher–student and peer–student) experiences relate to student EF development. Across 20 studies, we found that classroom emotional support and teacher–student conflict were the most consistent predictors of student EF development, with emerging support for school-level and peer-level variables. We discuss findings in relation to school-based inhibitors and facilitators of student EF and provide implications for education research and practice.
... For example, women with a history of childhood abuse compared to controls exhibit less fronto-parietal activation, but more activity in regions that are part of the ventral attention/surveillance system during both a standard color-word and color-emotional word Stroop task (Mackiewicz Seghete et al., 2017). In adolescents with severe substance and conduct problems, more activation is observed in medial temporal regions including hippocampal regions (Banich et al., 2007), suggesting potentially a more instance-based processing of Stroop stimuli. ...
This article argues that the Stroop effect can be generated at a variety of stages from stimulus input to response selection. As such, there are multiple loci at which the Stroop effect occurs. Evidence for this viewpoint is provided by a review of neuroimaging studies that were specifically designed to isolate levels of interference in the Stroop task and the underlying neural systems that work to control the effects of interference at those levels. In particular, the evidence suggests that lateral prefrontal regions work to bias processing toward the task-relevant dimension of a Stroop stimulus (e.g., its color) and away from the task-irrelevant dimension (e.g., the meaning of the word). Medial prefrontal regions, in contrast, tend to be more involved in response-related and late-stage aspects of control. Importantly, it is argued that this control occurs in a cascade-like manner, such that the degree of control that is exerted at earlier stages influences the degree of control that needs to be exerted at later stages. As such, the degree of behavioral interference that is observed is the culmination of processing in specific brain regions as well as their interaction.
... Importantly, maladaptive behaviors, such as emotional outbursts and aggression (Ellis, Weiss, & Lochman, 2009;Schoemaker, Mulder, Deković, & Matthys, 2013), and mental health disorders (e.g., conduct disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression; Banich et al., 2007;Kyte, Goodyear & Sahakian, 2005;Penadés et al., 2007) are associated with EF deficits. ...
Despite school‐based services, adolescents with maladaptive behavior experience negative outcomes, highlighting the need for insight into factors that contribute to and escalate behavior problems during middle school—a high‐risk period. We examined how perceived school stress, stress regulation (engagement/disengagement coping, involuntary responses), and executive function of 79 middle schoolers with and without significant behavior problems were related to internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Results showed students with significant behavior problems (a) had lower executive function abilities and higher peer stress, (b) used less engagement coping, and (c) reported more maladaptive behaviors than typical peers. For all students, school‐based stress positively predicted behavior problems and use of stress regulation techniques, with group moderating effects. Involuntary responses to stress positively predicted maladaptive behaviors, whereas engagement/disengagement coping predicted internalizing behaviors only. As a mediator, engagement coping decreased the relationship between perceived stress and behavior problems. Based on these findings, we highlight important prevention and intervention areas.
... While maturation of limbic-insular-frontal circuitry is associated with the ability to exert inhibitory control over impulses (Dambacher et al. 2015;Luna et al. 2001;White et al. 2011), emotion (Tyborowska et al. 2016) and reward-related behaviors (Banich et al. 2007;Chambers et al. 2009;Schramm-Sapyta et al. 2009;van Duijvenvoorde 2016), the maturation of frontal-basal ganglia-thalamic loops (Rubia et al. 2007) supports increases in the efficiency of planningbased action selection (Randerath et al., 2017) and automaticity of procedures (Beauchamp et al. 2003;Erickson et al. 2010;Leisman et al. 2014), which work together with fronto-cerebellar motor loops to store the most efficient representations of behavior (Ito 1993;Koziol et al. 2012). As repeated procedures become more automatic, they require less cognitive control (Gratton et al. 1992;Mayr et al. 2003;Purmann and Pollmann 2015;Ullsperger et al. 2005) associated with reduced frontoparietal activity (Egner and Hirsch 2005;Kerns et al. 2004a, b;Larson et al. 2009). ...
Critical changes in adolescence involve brain cognitive maturation of inhibitory control processes that are essential for a myriad of adult functions. Cognitive control advances into adulthood as there is more flexible integration of component processes, including inhibitory control of conflicting information, overwriting inappropriate response tendencies, and amplifying relevant responses for accurate execution. Using a modified Stroop task with fMRI, we investigated the effects of age, sex, and puberty on brain functional correlates of cognitive and motor control in 87 boys and 91 girls across the adolescent age range. Results revealed dissociable brain systems for cognitive and motor control processes, whereby adolescents flexibly adapted neural responses to control demands. Specifically, when response repetitions facilitated planning-based action selection, frontoparietal-insular regions associated with cognitive control operations were less activated, whereas cortical-pallidal-cerebellar motor regions associated with motor skill acquisition, were more activated. Attenuated middle cingulate cortex activation occurred with older adolescent age for both motor control and cognitive control with automaticity from repetition learning. Sexual dimorphism for control operations occurred in extrastriate cortices involved in visuo-attentional selection: While boys enhanced extrastriate selection processes for motor control, girls activated these regions more for cognitive control. These sex differences were attenuated with more advanced pubertal stage. Together, our findings show that brain cognitive and motor control processes are segregated, demand-specific, more efficient in older adolescents, and differ between sexes relative to pubertal development. Our findings advance our understanding of how distributed brain activity and the neurodevelopment of automaticity enhances cognitive and motor control ability in adolescence.
... 해마방회와 후대상피질의 연대 활성화는 공간 기억 네트워크의 일부로 (Maguire, Frackowiak, & Frith, 1997), 방향지시 단어를 공간적으로 변환시켜 화살표의 방향과 일치성을 판단하기 위하여 활성화 된 것으로 보인다. 이는 이러한 인지억제 조건에서 기 억과 재인지 과정시에 해마방회의 활성화를 보고한 이전 연구결과들 (Banich et al., 2007;Xiao et al., 2014) (Posner & Petersen, 1990;Sohn & Anderson, 2001). 특히 뒤쪽 마루소엽 은 주의 전환을 비롯하여 선택적 주의에 관여하는 영역으로 (Liston et al., 2006;Vance et al., 2007) (Turner-Cobb, 2005;Marquez, Nadal, & Armario, 2006). ...
... Prior research has shown associations between such traits and brain function in adolescents: negative affect is associated with increased amygdalar activity, especially when viewing sad faces (Henderson et al., 2014) such as were used here, whereas increased self-reported executive control is linked to increased activity of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (Andrews-Hanna et al., 2011). We employed a Stroop task because the standard Stroop task and its variants has been found sensitive to detecting alterations in brain function and behavior in adolescents as function of individual differences with regards to risk or presence of psychopathology (e.g., Aloi, Blair, Krum, Meffert, White et al., 2018;Banich, Crowley, Thompson, Jacobson, Liu, Raymond & Claus, 2007;Kilgore, Gruber & Yurgelun-Todd, 2007). We posited that individual differences might moderate the observed brain-behavior relationships, and the Stroop task would be a sensitive way to measure them. ...
One major question in the cognitive neuroscience of cognitive control is whether prefrontal regions contribute to control by upregulating the processing of task-relevant material or by downregulating the processing of task-irrelevant material. Here we take a unique approach to addressing this question by using multi-voxel pattern analysis, which allowed us to determine the degree to which each of the task-relevant and task-irrelevant dimensions of a stimulus are being processed in posterior cortex on a trial-by-trial basis. In our study, adolescent participants performed an emotion word – emotional face Stroop task requiring them to determine the emotional valence (positive, negative) of a task-relevant word in the context of a task-irrelevant emotional face. Using mediation models, we determined whether activation of a major cognitive control region, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), influences reaction time on a trial-by-trial basis directly or if it does so indirectly by modulating processing of the task-relevant and/or task-irrelevant information in posterior brain regions. To examine the specificity of the effects observed for the DLPFC, similar analyses were performed for the amygdala, a brain region involved in processing of the salient task-irrelevant emotional information. For both congruent and incongruent trials, increased DLPFC activity on a given trial was associated with reduced perceptual processing of the task-irrelevant face, consistent with the idea that top-down cognitive control can modulate processing of task-irrelevant information. No effect of DLPFC activity was observed on processing of the task-relevant word. However, increased processing of the task-relevant word was associated with longer RT on congruent trials but not incongruent trials, which may reflect a need for greater processing of the task-relevant word to overcome any influence of the pre-potent task-irrelevant face. In a more exploratory aspect of our investigation, multi-level moderated mediation models were used to examine the influence of individual differences on the observed brain-behavior relationships. For congruent trials, the influence of task-irrelevant face processing on RT was decreased in individuals with higher self-reported Executive Control and increased in those with higher levels of self-reported Negative Affect. These results suggest that cognitive control regions in prefrontal cortex during adolescence can suppress the processing of task-irrelevant information in sensory cortex to influence performance (RT). The processing of task-relevant information may also influence performance, but such processing did not reveal evidence of being modulated by cognitive control regions. Moreover, these effects are sensitive to individual differences in the self-reported ability to exert cognitive and affective control. As such, we provide insights into the more precise mechanisms by which cognitive control influences task performance on a trial-by-trial basis during adolescence.
... Prior research on neural substrates has related criminal behavior to differential processing of rewards and incentives (Buckholtz et al., 2010;Cohn et al., 2015;Pujara, Motzkin, Newman, Kiehl, & Koenigs, 2014), reduced attention and inhibition (Aharoni et al., 2013;Banich et al., 2007;Freeman et al., 2015;Larson et al., 2013;Pujol et al., 2012), and abnormal processing of emotional and moral stimuli (Birbaumer et al., 2005;Carré, Hyde, Neumann, Viding, & Hariri, 2013;Marsh & Cardinale, 2014). Broadly consistent with this work, FTT incorporates influences of reward sensitivity, emotion, and inhibition on risky decision-making (Reyna & Casillas, 2009;Reyna, Wilhelms, McCormick, & Weldon, 2015). ...
Criminal behavior has been associated with abnormal neural activity when people experience risks and rewards or exercise inhibition. However, neural substrates of mental representations that underlie criminal and noncriminal risk-taking in adulthood have received scant attention. We take a new approach, applying fuzzy-trace theory, to examine neural substrates of risk preferences and criminality. We extend ideas about gist (simple meaning) and verbatim (precise risk-reward tradeoffs) representations used to explain adolescent risk-taking to uncover neural correlates of developmentally inappropriate adult risk-taking. We tested predictions using a risky-choice framing task completed in the MRI scanner, and examined neural covariation with self-reported criminal and noncriminal risk-taking. As predicted, risk-taking was correlated with a behavioral pattern of risk preferences called “reverse framing” (preferring sure losses over a risky option and a risky option over sure gains, the opposite of typical framing biases) that has been linked to risky behavior in adolescents and is rarely observed in nondisordered adults. Experimental manipulations confirmed processing interpretations of typical framing (gist-based) and reverse-framing (verbatim-based) risk preferences. In the brain, covariation with criminal and noncriminal risk-taking was observed predominantly when subjects made reverse-framing choices. Noncriminal risk-taking behavior was associated with emotional reactivity (amygdala) and reward motivation (striatal) areas, whereas criminal behavior was associated with greater activation in temporal and parietal cortices, their junction, and insula. When subjects made more developmentally typical framing choices, reflecting nonpreferred gist processing, activation in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex covaried with criminal risk-taking, which may reflect cognitive effort to process gist while inhibiting preferred verbatim processing.
... A computerized version of the classic Stroop color-word task was administered to assess prepotent response inhibition (see Banich et al., 2007). On each trial, the participant was presented with either a color-word (e.g., "blue", "yellow") or a neutral, non-color word (e.g., "Math", "Add") against a black screen and instructed to identify the color in which the word was printed (while ignoring its semantic meaning) by pressing a corresponding key as quickly as possible. ...
The authors examined the association between working memory and response inhibition on the Stroop task using a cross-sectional, international sample of 5099 individuals (49.3% male) ages 10–30 (M = 17.04 years; SD = 5.9). Response inhibition was measured using a Stroop task that included “equal” and “unequal” blocks, during which the relative frequency of neutral and incongruent trials was manipulated. Competing stimuli in incongruent trials evinced inhibitory functioning, and having a lower proportion of incongruent trials (as in unequal blocks) placed higher demands on working memory. Results for accuracy indicated that age and working memory were independently associated with response inhibition. Age differences in response inhibition followed a curvilinear trajectory, with performance improving into early adulthood. Response inhibition was greatest among individuals with high working memory. For response time, age uniquely predicted response inhibition in unequal blocks. In equal blocks, age differences in response inhibition varied as a function of working memory, with age differences being least pronounced among individuals with high working memory. The implications of considering the association between response inhibition and working memory in the context of development are discussed.
... with reliabilities for previous work ranging from .47 to .73 [31]. Selective attention and response inhibition were measured by the Stroop task [54,55], where the participant identifies as quickly as possible the color in which the color (e.g., "blue") or neutral (e.g., "Math") word was printed while ignoring the semantic meaning of the word. Only neutral words (i.e., not color-related) and incongruent words (i.e., color words are different then the ink color, e.g. the word "blue" printed in yellow) were used on this version of the task. ...
The majority of prior work focuses on understanding the association between callous-unemotional (CU) traits and conduct problems, providing limited information on why some youth who score high on CU traits do not engage in conduct problem behaviors. The current study investigated heterogeneity among a sub-sample of adolescents with CU traits (N = 152; Mage = 13.09, SD = 2.76, 45.6% female) identified from a large community sample. Three groups were compared: control, callous-unemotional traits only (CU-only), and combined callous-unemotional and conduct problems (CU + CP). Participants were administered a battery of neuropsychological computerized tasks assessing risk taking, self-regulation and cognitive capacity. Results indicated that youth high on CU traits and low on CP scored higher on self-regulation and were less likely to make risky decisions compared to youth with combined CU + CP. In general, the findings provided information that heterogeneity within CU traits can be explained based on differences in neuro-cognitive functioning. In addition, the characteristics of youth high on CU traits only can provide information for interventions aiming to decrease conduct problems among youth high on these traits.
... However, the neuroimaging data suggests that dysfunction in this domain is related to ADHD, not to CD/ODD. Neuroimaging studies have investigated the performance of youth with conduct problems on response inhibition tasks (Banich et al., 2007;Hwang et al., 2016;Marsh et al., 2011;Rubia et al., 2010;Rubia et al., 2008;. Several studies that examined different paradigms involving response inhibition reported intact behavioral performance and no group differences in recruitment of regions implicated in response control (IFG/AIC or pre-SMA). ...
A cognitive neuroscience perspective seeks to understand behavior, in this case disruptive behavior disorders (DBD), in terms of dysfunction in cognitive processes underpinned by neural processes. While this type of approach has clear implications for clinical mental health practice, it also has implications for school-based assessment and intervention with children and adolescents who have disruptive behavior and aggression. This review articulates a cognitive neuroscience account of DBD by discussing the neurocognitive dysfunction related to emotional empathy, threat sensitivity, reinforcement-based decision-making, and response inhibition. The potential implications for current and future classroom-based assessments and interventions for students with these deficits are discussed.
Online Access: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/KKQPeXYC9846c9wnvBHf/full
... However, the neuroimaging data suggests that dysfunction in this domain is related to ADHD, not to CD/ODD. Neuroimaging studies have investigated the performance of youth with conduct problems on response inhibition tasks (Banich et al., 2007;Hwang et al., 2016;Marsh et al., 2011;Rubia et al., 2010;Rubia et al., 2008;. Several studies that examined different paradigms involving response inhibition reported intact behavioral performance and no group differences in recruitment of regions implicated in response control (IFG/AIC or pre-SMA). ...
A cognitive neuroscience perspective seeks to understand behavior, in this case disruptive behavior disorders (DBD), in terms of dysfunction in cognitive processes underpinned by neural processes. While this type of approach has clear implications for clinical mental health practice, it also has implications for school-based assessment and intervention with children and adolescents who have disruptive behavior and aggression. This review articulates a cognitive neuroscience account of DBD by discussing the neurocognitive dysfunction related to emotional empathy, threat sensitivity, reinforcement-based decision-making, and response inhibition. The potential implications for current and future classroom-based assessments and interventions for students with these deficits are discussed.
... Beyond reward-related reactivity in the VS, a broader literature on decision making and learning suggests that AB is linked to dysfunction in prefrontal regions during tasks that tap emotion regulation, affective decision making, and learning (i.e., orbitofrontal cortex/ventromedial prefrontal cortex [PFC]) (24)(25)(26)(27)(28) as well as affective responses to reward (i.e., ventrolateral PFC [vlPFC]) (29,30). In Blair's model of AB, impairment in prefrontal functioning that leads to deficits in cognitive control and rewarddominant behavior is central to the etiology of broad disinhibited externalizing behaviors, including AB, ADHD, and substance use (31). ...
Background:
Individuals involved in antisocial behavior often engage in excessive reward-driven behavior even in the face of severe punishments including incarceration. However, the neural mechanisms of reward processing in antisocial behavior have not been examined while considering the heterogeneity of antisocial behavior and specific phases of reward and loss processing. In this study, we investigate the relationship between antisocial behavior, callous-unemotional traits, and neural activity during the anticipation and receipt of rewards and losses.
Methods:
A community sample of 144 low income, racially diverse, urban males at risk for antisocial behavior completed self-report measures, a clinical interview, and an fMRI scan at age 20. Neural response during the anticipation and receipt of monetary rewards and losses was linked to antisocial behavior and callous-unemotional traits using a priori ventral striatum region of interest analyses and exploratory whole brain analyses.
Results:
Antisocial behavior, but not callous-unemotional traits, was related to less ventral striatum response during reward anticipation. There were no significant relationships between neural reactivity and antisocial behavior or callous-unemotional traits during reward or loss outcomes. Antisocial behavior was also related to less ventrolateral prefrontal cortex reactivity during reward and loss anticipation.
Conclusions:
These findings support a hypo-reactivity model of reward and loss anticipation in antisocial behavior. Lower striatal reactivity to cues of reward and lower prefrontal-regulatory recruitment during reward and loss anticipation may contribute to maladaptive reward-related behavior found in antisocial behavior.
... Stroop. A computerized version of the classic Stroop colorword task (Banich et al., 2007) was administered to assess prepotent response inhibition. On each trial, the participant is presented either a color-word (e.g., "blue,") or a neutral/noncolor word (e.g., "Math,") and instructed to identify the color of the word (ignoring its semantic meaning) by pressing a corresponding key as quickly as possible. ...
In the present analysis, we test the dual systems model of adolescent risk taking in a cross-national sample of over 5,200 individuals aged 10 through 30 ( = 17.05 years, = 5.91) from 11 countries. We examine whether reward seeking and self-regulation make independent, additive, or interactive contributions to risk taking, and ask whether these relations differ as a function of age and culture. To compare across cultures, we conduct 2 sets of analyses: 1 comparing individuals from Asian and Western countries, and 1 comparing individuals from low- and high-GDP countries. Results indicate that reward seeking and self-regulation have largely independent associations with risk taking and that the influences of each variable on risk taking are not unique to adolescence, but that their link to risk taking varies across cultures. (PsycINFO Database Record
... In incongruent trials participants must focus on the target stimuli (i.e., ink color) while simultaneously inhibiting their pre-potent response to irrelevant stimuli (i.e., word meaning). Words are viewed in six blocks of 16 trials, each of which lasts 2500 ms: 300 ms fixation cross, 1500 ms word stimulus presentation, and 700 ms inter-stimulus interval [29]. Participants pressed the button corresponding to the word's color via a 4-colouredbutton response device. ...
The present study aimed to test whether neurocognitive deficits involved in decision making underlie subtypes of conduct-disorder (CD) differentiated on the basis of callous-unemotional (CU) traits. Eighty-five participants (M age = 10.94 years) were selected from a sample of 1200 children based on repeated assessment of CD and CU traits. Participants completed a multi-method battery of well-validated measures of risky decision making and associated constructs of selective attention and future orientation (Stroop, Stoplight, and Delay-Discounting Tasks). Findings indicated that impaired decision making, selective attention, and future orientation contribute to the antisocial presentations displayed by children with CD, irrespective of level of CU traits. Youth high on CU traits without CD showed less risky decision making, as indicated by their performance on the Stoplight laboratory task, than those high on both CD and CU traits, suggesting a potential protective factor against the development of antisocial behavior.
... Altered functional activity was reported in previous fMRI studies. One study showed increased thalamus activity during the Stroop task in CD patients compared to TD controls [75], while another study showed that the thalamus was more active in violent offenders than non-offenders during a conflict-related task [76]. The thalamus is thought to play an important role in stress adaptation and controlling motor systems [76]. ...
Youth with conduct disorder (CD) not only inflict serious physical and psychological harm on others, but are also at greatly increased risk of sustaining injuries, developing depression or substance abuse, and engaging in criminal behaviors. The underlying neurobiological basis of CD remains unclear.
The present study investigated whether participants with CD have altered hemodynamic activity under resting-state conditions.
Eighteen medication-naïve boys with CD and 18 age- and sex- matched typically developing (TD) controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in the resting state. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) was measured and compared between the CD and TD groups.
Compared with the TD participants, the CD participants showed lower ALFF in the bilateral amygdala/parahippocampus, right lingual gyrus, left cuneus and right insula. Higher ALFF was observed in the right fusiform gyrus and right thalamus in the CD participants compared to the TD group.
Youth with CD displayed widespread functional abnormalities in emotion-related and visual cortical regions in the resting state. These results suggest that deficits in the intrinsic activity of resting state networks may contribute to the etiology of CD.
... Boys ending up in these programs may display more externalizing behavior problems and more often meet criteria for conduct disorder. Banich et al. 24 compared brain activation patterns during a color-word Stroop interference task between adolescents with severe substance and conduct problems and controls. Similar to our results, these investigators found that patients needed to engage prefrontal brain regions to a greater extent than did controls during the interference condition to obtain the same level of performance. ...
Objective: Early-onset cannabis use has been associated with later use/abuse, mental health problems (psychosis, depression), and abnormal development of cognition and brain function. During adolescence, ongoing neurodevelopmental maturation and experience shape the neural circuitry underlying complex cognitive functions such as memory and executive control. Prefron-tal and temporal regions are critically involved in these functions. Maturational processes leave these brain areas prone to the potentially harmful effects of cannabis use. Method: We performed a two-site (United States and the Netherlands; pooled data) functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study with a cross-sectional design, investigating the effects of adolescent cannabis use on working memory (WM) and associative memory (AM) brain function in 21 abstinent but frequent cannabis– using boys (13–19) years of age and compared them with 24 nonusing peers. Brain activity during WM was assessed before and after rule-based learning (automatization). AM was assessed using a pictorial hippocampal-dependent memory task. Results: Cannabis users performed normally on both memory tasks. During WM assessment, cannabis users showed excessive activity in prefrontal regions when a task was novel, whereas automatization of the task reduced activity to the same level in users and controls. No effect of cannabis use on AM-related brain function was found. Conclusions: In adolescent cannabis users, the WM system was overactive during a novel task, suggesting functional compensation. Inefficient WM recruitment was not related to a failure in automatization but became evident when processing continuously changing information. The results seem to confirm the vulnerability of still developing frontal lobe functioning for early-onset cannabis use.
... Research using an auditory memory task showed behavioral and neurobiological hippocampal dysfunction in adolescents frequently using both marijuana (Jacobsen et al., 2004a) and ecstasy (Jacobsen et al., 2004b). Increased activation in multiple regions including bilateral hippocampal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, thalamus, and the caudate nucleus were seen in adolescents with substance use disorders and conduct problems (Banich et al., 2007). ...
The neural basis of decision-making has been an elusive concept largely due to the many subprocesses associated with it. Risky decision making involves weighing good and bad outcomes against their probabilities in order to determine the relative values of candidate actions. Although human decision-making sometimes conforms to rational models of how this weighing is achieved, irrational patterns of risky choice, including shifts between risk-averse and risk-seeking choices involving equivalent-value gambles, are frequently observed in adolescents. Recent efforts involving neuroimaging, neuropsychological studies, and animal work indicate that cortical and subcortical structures play a central role in several of the subprocesses involved in decision-making and risk-taking. The identified mechanism is now known to include a multi-component valuation stage, implemented in ventromedial prefrontal cortex and associated parts of striatum, and a choice stage, implemented in lateral prefrontal and parietal areas. The frontal lobes are involved in tasks ranging from making binary choices to making multi-attribute decisions that require explicit deliberation and integration of diverse sources of information. The lateral and medial orbitofrontal, and ventromedial prefrontal areas are most relevant to deciding based on reward values and contribute to affective information regarding decision attributes and options. Lateral prefrontal cortex is critical in making decisions that call for the consideration of multiple sources of information, and may recruit separable areas when making well defined versus poorly defined decisions. The anterior and ventral cingulate cortex appear especially relevant in sorting among conflicting options, as well as signalling outcome-relevant information. Goal-directed decisions have their basis in a common value signal encoded in ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and exercising self-control involves the modulation of this value signal by dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Emotion and feelings appear to influence the decision-making process. Decision-making often occurs in the face of uncertainty and it has been claimed that such decisions can be aided by emotions. Serotonin activity plays a significant role in nonnormative risky decision-making under conditions of uncertainty. There are neurobiological differences in structural and functional neuroanatomy in adolescents with substance abuse disorders and healthy controls. Risk-taking behaviors in adolescents have been associated with a high level of morbidity and mortality and might be explained by relative immaturity of brain structures. This is especially true for the prefrontal cortex that is linked with higher-order cognitive functions and emotional regulation. The anterior cingulate cortex and orbital prefrontal cortex along with medial prefrontal cortex have been involved in cognitive processes of conflict monitoring and response-inhibition that are pivotal for decision-making in adults. Increased vulnerability to risk-taking during adolescence may be a reflection of relatively higher tendency to seek rewards and still maturing capacities for self-control. Thus, neuromaturational differences in prefrontal cortex during adolescence might contribute to frequent underestimation of risks and increased risk-taking behaviors. In this review, we will focus on the neuroanatomical aspects of decision-making and risk-taking behaviours, two cognitive patterns which are intimately linked.
... Thus, higher interference scores represent better performance. The Stroop appears to be associated with an inability to inhibit behavior amongst substance abusers [11,67]. ...
Background and Objectives
The relationship between substance use and cognitive deficits is complex and requires innovative methods to enhance understanding. The present study is the first to use LCA to examine associations of drug use patterns with cognitive performance.Methods
Cocaine/heroin users (N = 552) completed questionnaires, and cognitive measures. LCA identified classes based on past-month drug use and adjusted for probabilities of group membership when examining cognitive performance. Latent indicators were: alcohol (ALC), cigarettes (CIG), marijuana (MJ), crack smoking (CS), nasal heroin (NH), injection cocaine (IC), injection heroin (IH), and injection speedball (IS). Age and education were included as covariates in model creation.ResultsBootstrap likelihood ratio test (BLRT) supported a 5-class model. Prevalent indicators (estimated probability of over 50%) for each class are as follows: “Older Nasal Heroin/Crack Smokers” (ONH/CS, n = 166.9): ALC, CIG, NH, CS; “Older, Less Educated Polysubstance” (OLEP, n = 54.8): ALC, CIG, CS, IH, IC, and IS; “Younger Multi-Injectors” (MI, n = 128.7): ALC, CIG, MJ, IH, IC, and IS; “Less Educated Heroin Injectors” (LEHI, n = 87.4): CIG, IH; and “More Educated Nasal Heroin” users (MENH, n = ALC, CIG, NH. In general, all classes performed worse than established norms and older, less educated classes performed worse, with the exception that MENH demonstrated worse cognitive flexibility than YMI.Discussion and Conclusions
This study demonstrated novel applications of a methodology for examining complicated relationships between polysubstance use and cognitive performance.Scientific SignificanceEducation and/or nasal heroin use are associated with reduced cognitive flexibility in this sample of inner city drug users. (Am J Addict 2014;XX:XX–XX)
... The paracingulate cortex participates in higher-order cognitive processing, such as planning ( Baker et al., 1996;Dagher et al., 1999), while the medial frontal cortex is involved in monitoring of ongoing actions and performance outcomes ( Ridderinkhof et al., 2004a). Moreover, adolescents with severe substance and conduct problems perform similarly on the Stroop task as healthy control subjects, but they exhibit greater PFC and parahippocampal activation on incongruent trials of the task ( Banich et al., 2007). While MA subjects in the present study were adults without the added diagnosis of conduct disorder, exaggerated activity in similar regions suggests a common abnormality of drug-abusing populations. ...
Individuals who abuse methamphetamine (MA) perform at levels below those of healthy controls on tests that require cognitive control. As cognitive control deficits may influence the success of treatment for addiction, we sought to help clarify the neural correlates of this deficit. MA-dependent (n=10, abstinent 4-7 days) and control subjects (n=18) performed a color-word Stroop task, which requires cognitive control, during functional MRI (fMRI). The task included a condition in which participants were required to respond to one stimulus dimension while ignoring another conflicting dimension, and another condition without conflict. We compared the groups on performance and neural activation in the two conditions. MA-dependent subjects made more errors and responded more slowly than controls. Controlling for response times in the incongruent condition, voxel-wise mixed effects analyses (whole-brain corrected) demonstrated that MA-dependent subjects had less activation than control subjects in the right inferior frontal gyrus, supplementary motor cortex/anterior cingulate gyrus and the anterior insular cortex during the incongruent condition only. MA-dependent subjects did not exhibit greater activation in any brain region in either of the Stroop conditions. These preliminary findings suggest that hypofunction in cortical areas that are important for executive function underlies cognitive control deficits associated with MA dependence.
... For example, relationships between disinhibition and substance use (Nigg et al. 2006) can potentially involve differences in executive cognitive function (Finn et al. 2002a(Finn et al. , b, 2004, which would implicate specific brain regions (i.e., the frontal cortex). Previous work suggests altered frontal cortex activity in adolescent substance abusers with conduct problems during attentional control tasks (Banich et al. 2007) and reduced frontal engagement in cocaine and marijuana users during response inhibition tasks (Kaufman et al. 2003;Li et al. 2008). Future studies will be needed to investigate performance-based measures of frontally mediated functions in relation to CHRM2. ...
Evidence for shared heritable influences across domains of substance use suggests that some genetic variants influence broad risk for externalizing behaviors. Theories of externalizing psychopathology also suggest that genetic liability for substance use manifests as temperamental risk factors, particularly those related to behavioral disinhibition, during adolescence. The cholinergic muscarinic receptor 2 gene (CHRM2) is a promising candidate for studying genetic influences on broad-based risk for externalizing traits. This study examined a candidate CHRM2 polymorphism (rs1455858) in relation to substance use and personality measures of disinhibition in a sample of high-risk adolescents (n = 124). Bivariate analyses and structural equation modeling (SEM) evaluated associations of rs1455858 with measures of drug involvement (alcohol, tobacco and marijuana) and disinhibition (indexed by impulsivity and sensation seeking scores). Bivariate analyses showed significant associations of CHRM2 with several behavioral phenotypes. In SEM analyses CHRM2 related significantly to latent measures of substance use and disinhibition; additionally, disinhibition mediated the association of CHRM2 with substance use. These results suggest that CHRM2 variants are potentially relevant for adolescent substance use and that temperamental risk factors could contribute to these associations.
... One interpretation of this finding is that emotional self-regulation in children requires the recruitment of more connections within the immature PFC compared to more practiced adults. This interpretation is consistent with work showing that adolescents with conduct disorder recruit relatively more PFC tissue than controls in order to normalize their performance on the Stroop test (Banich et al., 2007). However, an alternative interpretation of the greater PFC activation in children is that this age-related difference may be secondary to differences in amygdala activity, since PFC and amygdala have reciprocal connections (Lewis and Stieben, 2004). ...
Vulnerability to drug abuse is related to both reward seeking and impulsivity, two constructs thought to have a biological basis in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). This review addresses similarities and differences in neuroanatomy, neurochemistry and behavior associated with PFC function in rodents and humans. Emphasis is placed on monoamine and amino acid neurotransmitter systems located in anatomically distinct subregions: medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC); lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC); anterior cingulate cortex (ACC); and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). While there are complex interconnections and overlapping functions among these regions, each is thought to be involved in various functions related to health-related risk behaviors and drug abuse vulnerability. Among the various functions implicated, evidence suggests that mPFC is involved in reward processing, attention and drug reinstatement; lPFC is involved in decision-making, behavioral inhibition and attentional gating; ACC is involved in attention, emotional processing and self-monitoring; and OFC is involved in behavioral inhibition, signaling of expected outcomes and reward/punishment sensitivity. Individual differences (e.g., age and sex) influence functioning of these regions, which, in turn, impacts drug abuse vulnerability. Implications for the development of drug abuse prevention and treatment strategies aimed at engaging PFC inhibitory processes that may reduce risk-related behaviors are discussed, including the design of effective public service announcements, cognitive exercises, physical activity, direct current stimulation, feedback control training and pharmacotherapies. A major challenge in drug abuse prevention and treatment rests with improving intervention strategies aimed at strengthening PFC inhibitory systems among at-risk individuals.
... Additional research using an auditory memory (n-back) task has also revealed behavioral and neurobiological hippocampal dysfunction in adolescents frequently using both marijuana [63] and ecstasy [64]. Other studies have investigated the neurobiology of attentional control in adolescent substance users, particularly those with both SUDs and conduct problems (SCP; [65]). Consistent with other studies described above, activation differences were observed, often in the absence of behavioral deficits; for example, under conditions of attentional conflict, adolescents with SCP showed increased activation in multiple regions including bilateral hippocampal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, thalamus, and the caudate. ...
Adolescence represents a unique period of development with neuronal maturation accompanied by increases in behavioral risk taking. Although risky behavior is a likely marker of normative adolescent development, there is an early emergence of substance use disorders in this population. Adolescence represents a distinct period of vulnerability to substance use initiation and transitions to substance abuse and dependence. Of recent interest is understanding the neurobiology of adolescent substance use disorders, with adult studies being limited in their applicability to this developmentally sensitive maturation period and providing restricted insight into potential treatment and intervention. First, the authors review the neurobiology of adolescent substance use disorders and, second, the authors consider the implications of these findings for prevention and treatment.
Past functional magnetic resonance imaging on antisocial subjects have shown important inconsistencies and methodological problems (e.g. heterogeneity in fMRI tasks domain, small sample sizes, analyses on regions-of-interest). We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of whole-brain fMRI studies on antisocial individuals based on distinct neurocognitive domains. A voxel-based meta-analysis via permutation of subject images (SDM-PSI) was performed on studies using fMRI tasks in the domains of acute threat response, cognitive control, social cognition, punishment and reward processing. Overall, 83 studies were retrieved. Using a liberal statistical threshold, several key regions were identified in the meta-analysis, principally during acute threat response, social cognition and cognitive control tasks. Additionally, we observed that the right amygdala was negatively associated with both callous-unemotional traits and severity of antisocial behaviors, in meta-analyses on region-of-interest and on dimensional studies, respectively. The findings show that the most prominent functional brain deficits arise during acute threat response, social cognitions and cognitive control neurocognitive domains. These results provide substantial insights for our understanding of aberrant neural processing across specific contexts.
Objective: A cognitive neuroscience perspective seeks to understand behavior, in this case the comorbidity of cannabis abuse and conduct disorder/conduct problems, in terms of dysfunction in cognitive processes underpinned by neural processes. The goal of this review is to articulate a cognitive neuroscience account of this comorbidity. Methods: Literature on the following issues will be reviewed: (i) the longitudinal relationship between cannabis abuse and conduct disorder/conduct problems (CD/CP); (ii) the extent to which there are genetic and environmental (specifically maltreatment) factors that underpin this relationship; (iii) forms of neurocognitive function that are reported dysfunctional in CD/CP and also, when dysfunctional, appear to be risk factors for future cannabis abuse; and (iv) the extent to which cannabis abuse may further compromise these systems leading to increased future abuse and greater conduct problems. Results: CD/CP typically predate cannabis abuse. There appear to be shared genetic factors that contribute to the relationship between CD/CP and cannabis abuse. Moreover, trauma exposure increases risk for both cannabis abuse and CP/CD. One form of neurocognitive dysfunction, response disinhibition, that likely exacerbates the symptomatology of many individuals with CD also appears to increase the risk for cannabis abuse. The literature with respect to other forms of neurocognitive dysfunction remains inconclusive. Conclusions: Based on the literature, a causal model of the comorbidity of cannabis abuse and CD/CP is developed.
Delay Discounting (DD) and the Stroop test are two fundamental tasks for the assessment of impulsivity and inhibitory control, core features of several behavioral disorders. Although the study of reliability and temporal stability is important, only studies with adults and small samples have been carried out. The aim of this study is to assess the one-year reliability and temporal stability of both tasks among adolescents. A total of 1375 adolescents (M = 13.08 years old, SD = 0.51) made up the final sample (53.5% males). The results showed moderate stability and good reliability for both DD (α = 0.90) and Stroop (α = 0.85). Indices based on the reaction times and not the number of errors are recommended when using the Stroop test. These results support the use of both behavioral tasks in longitudinal research among adolescents.
The dual systems model of adolescent risk-taking portrays the period as one characterized by a combination of heightened sensation seeking and still-maturing self-regulation, but most tests of this model have been conducted in the United States or Western Europe. In the present study, these propositions are tested in an international sample of more than 5000 individuals between ages 10 and 30 years from 11 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, using a multi-method test battery that includes both self-report and performance-based measures of both constructs. Consistent with the dual systems model, sensation seeking increased between preadolescence and late adolescence, peaked at age 19, and declined thereafter, whereas self-regulation increased steadily from preadolescence into young adulthood, reaching a plateau between ages 23 and 26. Although there were some variations in the magnitude of the observed age trends, the developmental patterns were largely similar across countries.
The period from adolescence through young adulthood is one of great promise but also vulnerability. As teenagers approach maturity, they must develop and apply the skills and habits necessary to navigate adulthood and compete in an ever more technological and globalized world. However, it has been long known, as the brain continues to develop in the adolescent, that there is a crucial dichotomy between adolescents' cognitive competence and their frequent inability to utilize that competence in everyday decision-making. Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by impulsive decision-making and risky behavior that give rise to an increased incidence of alcohol and drug abuse, physical violence and unintentional injuries, sexual indiscretion and unintended pregnancy. The neural basis of decision-making has been an elusive concept largely due to the many subprocesses associated with it. Recent efforts involving neuroimaging, neuropsychological studies, and animal work indicate that cortical and subcortical structures play a central role in several of these subprocesses. The frontal lobes are involved in tasks ranging from making binary choices to making multi-attribute decisions that require explicit deliberation and integration of diverse sources of information. The lateral and medial orbitofrontal, and ventromedial prefrontal areas are most relevant to deciding based on reward values and contribute affective information regarding decision attributes and options. Lateral prefrontal cortex is critical in making decisions that call for the consideration of multiple sources of information. The anterior cingulate cortex appear especially relevant in sorting among conflicting options, as well as signaling outcome-relevant information. Goal-directed decisions have their basis in a common value signal encoded in ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and exercising self-control involves the modulation of this value signal by dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Brain development in adolescents impacts various aspects of decision-making and reasoning, from the use and function of memory and representation, to judgment, and mathematical problem-solving. Writing is also all about decision-making. Emotion and feelings appear to influence the decision-making process. Decision-making often occurs in the face of uncertainty and it has been claimed that such decisions can be aided by emotions. It is well known that adolescence is characterized by high and unbalanced emotional levels. Adolescence marks an important developmental period of neurobiological change, with heightened vulnerability to substance use. Risky decision-making involves weighing good and bad outcomes against their probabilities in order to determine the relative values of candidate actions. Although human decision-making sometimes conforms to rational models of how this weighting is achieved, irrational patterns of risky choice, including shifts between risk-averse and risk-seeking choices involving equivalent-value gambles, are frequently observed in adolescents. Risk-taking behaviors have been associated with a high level of morbidity and mortality and might be explained by relative immaturity of brain structures during adolescence. This is especially true for the prefrontal cortex that is linked with higher-order cognitive functions and emotional regulation. The anterior cingulate cortex and orbital prefrontal cortex along with medial prefrontal cortex have been involved in cognitive processes of conflict monitoring and response-inhibition that are pivotal for decision-making in adults. Increased vulnerability to risktaking during adolescence may be a reflection of relatively higher tendency to seek rewards and still maturing capacities for self-control. Thus, neuromaturational differences in prefrontal cortex during adolescence might contribute to frequent underestimation of risks and increased risk-taking behaviors.
Internet addiction (IA) as a behavioral addiction is currently becoming a serious mental health issue around the globe. According to the neurobiological model of brain development, exploring the neural mechanisms of reward seeking behavior and cognitive control in internet addicts may help in developing treatments for individuals with IA. Behavioral research has indicated that IA is commonly associated with enhanced reward sensitivity and decreased inhibitory control. Additionally, research focused on the neural mechanisms of IA indicates that deficits in the reward or cognitive control systems might be a high risk factor for addictive behaviors. Compared with substance addictions, IA, as a kind of psychological addiction, has a specific reward mechanism. While previous research has deepened the understanding of the psychological and neural mechanisms in IA, there still exist many issues surrounding diagnosis and treatment of IA: the screening criteria are not scientific; the classification is ambiguous; the effect of intervention and treatment is controversial; causal research is scarce; and research paradigms are flawed. Substantial future research is needed to explore, fully understand, and treat IA.
Objective
Conduct Disorder (CD) in females is associated with negative adult outcomes including mental health problems and personality disorders. Although recent neuroimaging studies have reported changes in neural activity during facial emotion processing in males with CD or callous-unemotional (CU) traits, there have been no neuroimaging studies specifically assessing females with CD. We addressed this gap by investigating whether female adolescents with CD show atypical neural activation when processing emotional or neutral faces.
Method
We acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from 20 female adolescents with CD and 20 female control participants while they viewed angry, sad, and neutral faces.
Results
An omnibus group (CD, control) by facial emotion (angry, sad, neutral) analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed main effects of facial emotion in superior temporal cortex, fusiform gyrus, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and insula, and main effects of group in medial orbitofrontal cortex and right anterior insula. Female participants with CD showed reduced medial orbitofrontal cortex and increased anterior insula responses relative to healthy controls. There were no significant group by facial emotion interactions. Lifetime CD symptoms were negatively correlated with amygdala, superior temporal cortex, fusiform gyrus, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity for the contrast all-faces versus fixation. CU traits were negatively correlated with fusiform gyrus activity for the contrast sad-versus-neutral faces.
Conclusion
Females with CD showed atypical neural activation during the processing of all facial expressions, irrespective of valence. Our results demonstrate that severity of CD symptoms and CU traits is important in explaining abnormal patterns of neural activity.
Early-onset cannabis use has been associated with later use/abuse, mental health problems (psychosis, depression), and abnormal development of cognition and brain function. During adolescence, ongoing neurodevelopmental maturation and experience shape the neural circuitry underlying complex cognitive functions such as memory and executive control. Prefrontal and temporal regions are critically involved in these functions. Maturational processes leave these brain areas prone to the potentially harmful effects of cannabis use.
We performed a two-site (United States and The Netherlands; pooled data) functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study with a cross-sectional design, investigating the effects of adolescent cannabis use on working memory (WM) and associative memory (AM) brain function in 21 abstinent but frequent cannabis-using boys (13-19) years of age and compared them with 24 nonusing peers. Brain activity during WM was assessed before and after rule-based learning (automatization). AM was assessed using a pictorial hippocampal-dependent memory task.
Cannabis users performed normally on both memory tasks. During WM assessment, cannabis users showed excessive activity in prefrontal regions when a task was novel, whereas automatization of the task reduced activity to the same level in users and controls. No effect of cannabis use on AM-related brain function was found.
In adolescent cannabis users, the WM system was overactive during a novel task, suggesting functional compensation. Inefficient WM recruitment was not related to a failure in automatization but became evident when processing continuously changing information. The results seem to confirm the vulnerability of still developing frontal lobe functioning for early-onset cannabis use.
The adolescent period is characterized by substantial behavioral changes, including increases in novelty-seeking and risk-taking, which may facilitate substance use and experimentation. These behavioral changes co-occur with widespread structural and functional neural developments. Ontogenic changes affecting the neural circuitry subserving inhibitory control and reward-related processes are particularly relevant to adolescent risk-taking behavior. Impairment or immaturity of these processes are shown to contribute to enhanced risk for substance abuse. Additionally, the direct neural action of drugs of abuse in adolescents may have more severe consequences than in adults because of the additional potential effects on development. Functional neuroimaging research is beginning to examine the neural correlates of reward and inhibitory processes in adolescents. However, the study of the consequences of exposure to drugs of abuse on brain function in adolescents is lagging. This review summarizes the functional neuroimaging literature that can inform conceptualizations of risk and consequences of substance use in adolescence.
Male monozygotic cotwins of probands with Alcohol Abuse-Dependence (n = 85) were more likely than male same-sex dizygotic cotwins (n = 96) to report alcohol, drug, and conduct disorder problems. For women, rates of problem behavior did not differ between monozygotic (n = 44) and same-sex dizygotic (n = 43) cotwins. Opposite-sex dizygotic twin data (n = 88) revealed significant cross-sex transmission; alcohol problems were greatest among male cotwins of female probands. For men, proportion of liability variance associated with additive genetic factors was significantly greater when proband had an early (h2 = .73 +/- .18) rather than late (h2 = .30 +/- .26) age of onset. For women, heritability did not vary as a function of proband's age of onset, and the pooled estimate suggested little genetic influence (h2 = .00, SE not computable). Findings suggest that genetic influences may be substantial only in the etiology of early-onset male alcoholism.
The brain's attentional system identifies and selects information that is task-relevant while ignoring information that is task-irrelevant. In two experiments using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined the effects of varying task-relevant information compared to task-irrelevant information. In the first experiment, we compared patterns of activation as attentional demands were increased for two Stroop tasks that differed in the task-relevant information, but not the task-irrelevant information: a color-word task and a spatial-word task. Distinct subdivisions of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the precuneus became activated for each task, indicating differential sensitivity of these regions to task-relevant information (e.g., spatial information vs. color). In the second experiment, we compared patterns of activation with increased attentional demands for two Stroop tasks that differed in task-irrelevant information, but not task-relevant information: a color-word task and color-object task. Little differentiation in activation for dorsolateral prefrontal and precuneus regions was observed, indicating a relative insensitivity of these regions to task-irrelevant information. However, we observed a differentiation in the pattern of activity for posterior regions. There were unique areas of activation in parietal regions for the color-word task and in occipitotemporal regions for the color-object task. No increase in activation was observed in regions responsible for processing the perceptual attribute of color. The results of this second experiment indicate that attentional selection in tasks such as the Stroop task, which contain multiple potential sources of relevant information (e.g., the word vs. its ink color), acts more by modulating the processing of task-irrelevant information than by modulating processing of task-relevant information.
The authors present a theoretical framework for understanding the roles of the hippocampus and neocortex in learning and memory. This framework incorporates a theme found in many theories of hippocampal function: that the hippocampus is responsible for developing conjunctive representations binding together stimulus elements into a unitary representation that can later be recalled from partial input cues. This idea is contradicted by the fact that hippocampally lesioned rats can learn nonlinear discrimination problems that require conjunctive representations. The authors' framework accommodates this finding by establishing a principled division of labor, where the cortex is responsible for slow learning that integrates over multiple experiences to extract generalities whereas the hippocampus performs rapid learning of the arbitrary contents of individual experiences. This framework suggests that tasks involving rapid, incidental conjunctive learning are better tests of hippocampal function. The authors implement this framework in a computational neural network model and show that it can account for a wide range of data in animal learning.
The main aim of this study was to determine how constructive thinking (CT), executive functioning (EF), and antisocial behavior (ASB) are related to drug use involvement in 282 adolescent females, 14-18 years of age, with a substance use disorder (SUD) and in controls. CT was measured using the Constructive Thinking Inventory (S. Epstein & P. Meier, 1989), EF was measured using a battery of neuropsychological tests, and ASB was measured using the Youth Self-Report Inventory (T. Achenbach, 1991) and a psychiatric interview. Females with an SUD demonstrated lower CT and EF scores and higher ASB scores compared with the controls. Low CT and low EF were significantly related to increased drug use involvement even when controlling for age, socioeconomic status, and vocabulary level. ASB partially mediated the relation between CT and drug use involvement, and it fully mediated the relation between EF and drug use involvement. Moreover, ASB moderated the relation between EF and drug use involvement.
Over a century ago, Freud proposed that unwanted memories can be excluded from awareness, a process called repression. It is unknown, however, how repression occurs in the brain. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify the neural systems involved in keeping unwanted memories out of awareness. Controlling unwanted memories was associated with increased dorsolateral prefrontal activation, reduced hippocampal activation, and impaired retention of those memories. Both prefrontal cortical and right hippocampal activations predicted the magnitude of forgetting. These results confirm the existence of an active forgetting process and establish a neurobiological model for guiding inquiry into motivated forgetting.
Recent theoretical models based on cellular processes in parahippocampal structures show that persistent neuronal spiking in the absence of stimulus input is important for encoding. The goal of this study was to examine in humans how sustained activity in the parahippocampal gyrus may underlie long-term encoding as well as active maintenance of novel information. The relationship between long-term encoding and active maintenance of novel information during brief memory delays was studied using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in humans performing a delayed matching-to-sample (DMS) task and a post-scan subsequent recognition memory task of items encountered during DMS task performance. Multiple regression analyses revealed fMRI activity in parahippocampal structures associated with the active maintenance of trial-unique visual information during a brief memory delay. In addition to a role in active maintenance, we found that the subsequent memory for the sample stimuli as measured by the post-scan subsequent recognition memory task correlated with activity in the parahippocampal gyrus during the delay period. The results provide direct evidence that encoding mechanisms are engaged during brief memory delays when novel information is actively maintained. The relationship between active maintenance during the delay period and long-term subsequent memory is consistent with current theoretical models and experimental data that suggest that long-term encoding is enhanced by sustained parahippocampal activity.
To determine how alcohol use differentially affects brain functioning in male and female adolescents.
Adolescents with alcohol use disorders (AUDs; 7 female, 11 male) and control adolescents without AUDs (9 female, 12 male), aged 14-17 years, performed spatial working memory and vigilance tasks during functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Gender, AUD and their interaction were significantly associated with brain activation patterns to the tasks. There were interactions in the superior frontal, superior temporal, cingulate and fusiform regions, in which female and male adolescents with AUDs showed a different brain response from each other and control subjects. Overall, female adolescents with AUDs showed a greater departure from normal activation patterns than male adolescents with AUD.
Adolescent alcohol involvement may affect male and female brains differently, and adolescent females may be somewhat more vulnerable to adverse alcohol effects. With continued drinking, these adolescents may be at an increased risk for behavioural deficits.
This study investigated (1) whether attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) is associated with executive functioning (EF) deficits while controlling for oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder (ODD/CD), (2) whether ODD/CD is associated with EF deficits while controlling for AD/HD, and (3) whether a combination of AD/HD and ODD/CD is associated with EF deficits (and the possibility that there is no association between EF deficits and AD/HD or ODD/CD in isolation). Subjects were 99 children ages 6-12 years. Three putative domains of EF were investigated using well-validated tests: verbal fluency, working memory, and planning. Independent of ODD/CD, AD/HD was associated with deficits in planning and working memory, but not in verbal fluency. Only teacher rated AD/HD, but not parent rated AD/HD, significantly contributed to the prediction of EF task performance. No EF deficits were associated with ODD/CD. The presence of comorbid AD/HD accounts for the EF deficits in children with comorbid AD/HD+ODD/CD. These results suggest that EF deficits are unique to AD/HD and support the model proposed by R. A. Barkley (1997).
More than 700 studies sought to explain some nuance of the Stroop effect (C. M. MacLeod; see record 1991-14380-001 ). Thousands of others have been directly or indirectly influenced by J. R. Stroop's (see record 1936-01863-001 ) article. Two reasons for the popularity of the Stroop effect are suggested: its large and always statistically reliable effect and the lack of an adequate explanation for the effect. A brief biography of Stroop and a sketch of the history of the problem he studied are included.
The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLFPC), not the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), plays the predominant role in implementing top-down attentional control. To do so, we used fMRI to examine practice-related changes in neural activity during a variant of the Stroop task. The results indicated that the DLPFC’s activity decreased gradually as the need for control was reduced (as indexed by behavioral measures), while the ACC’s activity dropped off rapidly. Such a pattern is consistent with the DLPFC taking a leading role in implementing top-down attentional control and the ACC being involved in other aspects of attentional control, such as response-related processes. In addition, with practice, there was a reduction in activity within cortical systems handling the processing of task-irrelevant information capable of interfering with task performance. This finding suggests that with practice the brain is capable of identifying and strategically inhibiting such processing.
fMRI was used to determine whether prefrontal regions play a predominant role in imposing an attentional ‘set’ that drives selection of task-relevant information. While monitoring for an atypical item, individuals viewed Stroop stimuli that were either colored words or colored objects. Attentional demands were varied, being greater when the stimuli contained two distinct and incongruent sources of information about the task-relevant attribute (e.g., when attending to color, seeing the word ‘blue’ in red ink) as compared to only one source (e.g., seeing the word ‘late’ in red ink). Prefrontal but not anterior cingulate regions exhibited greater activation on incongruent than neutral trials, suggesting that prefrontal cortex has a major role in imposing an attentional ‘set’. In addition, we found that prefrontal activation is most likely to occur when that attentional set is difficult to impose.
The CIDI-SAM is a fully-structured interview that ascertains DSM-III, DSM-III-R, Feighner, RDC and ICD-10 diagnoses for alcohol, tobacco and nine classes of psychoactive drugs. It was designed at the request of the WHO/ADAMHA Task Force on Psychiatric Assessment instruments to expand the substance abuse sections of the CIDI. Using a test-retest design, the diagnostic and item reliabilities of this instrument were tested in a sample of 39 patients in substance abuse treatment at three St. Louis treatment facilities. Kappa values and their 95% confidence intervals, and Yule's Y values are reported. The average kappa for DSM-III substance disorders was 0.84, for DSM-III-R it was 0.82. We report, on the average, excellent kappa values for individual alcohol and drug symptoms. We also ascertained from the respondent's themselves the reasons why answers to specific questions might have been discordant. The findings from this unique 'discrepancy interview' are reported.
This study had four objectives: (1) to determine whether female adolescents with a psychoactive substance use disorder are more impaired than controls on a battery of neuropsychological tests of Executive Cognitive Functioning (ECF); (2) to determine whether these individuals exhibit higher levels of disruptive, delinquent and aggressive behavior compared with controls; (3) to determine whether ECF is related to disruptive, delinquent and aggressive behavior in this population; and (4) to determine whether these relations are moderated by drug use.
Multiple indicators of ECF, and disruptive, delinquent and aggressive behavior, as well as drug use, were used to test these relations in a sample of 188 female adolescents who qualified for a DSM-III-R diagnosis of a psychoactive substance use disorder (PSUD) and 95 normal controls between the ages of 14-18 years (N = 283).
Hierarchical multiple regression equations determined that ECF was related to disruptive, delinquent and aggressive behavior even when chronological age, SES and drug use were accounted for. The final regression models suggested that drug use was more strongly related to disruptive and delinquent behavior, whereas ECF was more strongly related to aggression. Drug use did not moderate any relation between ECF and the dependent measures.
One implication of these results is that violence prevention and treatment outcomes may be ameliorated by incorporating cognitive habilitation of ECF as an integral component of multimodel interventions.
Twins were recruited through alcohol and drug treatment programs. With structural equation modeling, genetic and environmental estimates were obtained for use and DSM-III abuse/dependence of sedatives, opioids, cocaine, stimulants, and cannabis as well as any illicit drug. Analyses were conducted separately for males and females. Models included thresholds based on population prevalence of use or abuse/dependence and ever having been in treatment. Genetic influences were found for most measures. They were generally stronger for males than females and for clinical diagnoses of abuse/dependence compared to use. Common environmental influences played a greater role in use than abuse/dependence.
To determine whether deficient executive cognitive functioning (ECF) in association with high behavioral activity level comprise components of the liability to substance abuse.
A high-risk (HR) group having fathers with a lifetime DSM-III-R diagnosis of a psychoactive substance use disorder was compared with a low-average-risk (LAR) group whose fathers had neither psychoactive substance use disorder nor another adult Axis I psychiatric disorder. ECF and behavioral activity were measured using neuropsychological tests, activity monitor, diagnostic interview, and informant ratings when the subjects were 10 to 12 years of age. Alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use were measured at 2-year follow-up.
At baseline, the HR group had a significantly higher behavioral activity level and exhibited poorer performance on ECF tests than the LAR group. By early adolescence, HR subjects had a higher lifetime rate of tobacco and cannabis use and earlier age at onset of cannabis use. ECF capacity, but not behavioral activity level, predicted tobacco and cannabis use, total number of drugs ever tried, and severity of drug involvement. ECF accounted for additional variance beyond the effects of conduct problems on these outcomes.
Whereas behavioral activity and ECF capacity in late childhood distinguishes HR from LAR youth, childhood ECF capacity is the more salient predictor of drug use in early adolescence.
The goal of the present study was to identify neurophysiological differences associated with a family history of substance dependence, and its subtypes (paternal alcohol, cocaine, or opiate dependence), and with conduct disorder, and its subtypes (aggression, deceitfulness/theft, and rules violations). P300 event-related brain potentials were recorded from 210 males and females, aged 15-20 years while they performed the Stroop color-word compatibility test. Analyses revealed no significant effects of familial substance dependence on P300. However, an elevated number of conduct disorder problems was associated with a statistically significant reduction in P300 amplitude. The P300 amplitude reduction was related to the severity of the "rules violation" subtype, but was unrelated to aggression or deceitfulness and theft. It is concluded that conduct disorder can explain many of the P300 findings previously attributed to a family history of alcohol dependence. Furthermore, it appears that conduct disorder may be a heterogenous classification comprised of neurophysiologically different subtypes.
Alcohol and other drug use are common in youth, but neurocognitive sequelae are unclear. This study examines the relationship between neuropsychological functioning and protracted substance use in adolescence. One hundred fifteen adolescents, ages 13 to 19 years, were recruited from inpatient substance abuse treatment programs and followed for 4 years. Adolescents were administered a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests and evaluated on substance use involvement during treatment, and at 6-month, 1-year, 2-year, and 4-year follow-up time points. Protracted substance abuse over the 4 years of follow-up was associated with significantly poorer subsequent functioning on tests of attention. In addition, alcohol and drug withdrawal accounted for significant variance in visuospatial functioning, above and beyond demographic, educational, and health variables in detoxified late adolescents and young adults. Results suggest that alcohol and drug withdrawal may be a more powerful marker of protracted neuropsychological impairments than other indices of youthful alcohol and drug involvement.
To describe the National Institute of Mental Health Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (NIMH DISC-IV) and how it differs from earlier versions of the interview. The NIMH DISC-IV is a highly structured diagnostic interview, designed to assess more than 30 psychiatric disorders occurring in children and adolescents, and can be administered by "lay" interviewers after a minimal training period. The interview is available in both English and Spanish versions.
An editorial board was established in 1992 to guide DISC development and ensure that a standard version of the instrument is maintained. Preliminary reliability and acceptability results of the NIMH DISC-IV in a clinical sample of 84 parents and 82 children (aged 9-17 years) drawn from outpatient child and adolescent psychiatric clinics at 3 sites are presented. Results of the previous version in a community sample are reviewed.
Despite its greater length and complexity, the NIMH DISC-IV compares favorably with earlier versions. Alternative versions of the interview are in development (the Present State DISC, the Teacher DISC, the Quick DISC, the Voice DISC).
The NIMH DISC is an acceptable, inexpensive, and convenient instrument for ascertaining a comprehensive range of child and adolescent diagnoses.
Understanding the changes in the brain which occur in the transition from normal to addictive behavior has major implications in public health. Here we postulate that while reward circuits (nucleus accumbens, amygdala), which have been central to theories of drug addiction, may be crucial to initiate drug self-administration, the addictive state also involves disruption of circuits involved with compulsive behaviors and with drive. We postulate that intermittent dopaminergic activation of reward circuits secondary to drug self-administration leads to dysfunction of the orbitofrontal cortex via the striato-thalamo-orbitofrontal circuit. This is supported by imaging studies showing that in drug abusers studied during protracted withdrawal, the orbitofrontal cortex is hypoactive in proportion to the levels of dopamine D2 receptors in the striatum. In contrast, when drug abusers are tested shortly after last cocaine use or during drug-induced craving, the orbitofrontal cortex is hypermetabolic in proportion to the intensity of the craving. Because the orbitofrontal cortex is involved with drive and with compulsive repetitive behaviors, its abnormal activation in the addicted subject could explain why compulsive drug self-administration occurs even with tolerance to the pleasurable drug effects and in the presence of adverse reactions. This model implies that pleasure per se is not enough to maintain compulsive drug administration in the drugaddicted subject and that drugs that could interfere with the activation of the striato-thalamo-orbitofrontal circuit could be beneficial in the treatment of drug addiction.
It was hypothesized that adolescent substance dependence moderates the relationship between family history of alcohol dependence and neuropsychological functioning.
This study compared the neuropsychological functioning of non-abusing and alcohol and drug-dependent adolescents with and without a family history of alcohol dependence using hierarchical multiple regressions and general factorial analyses.
Substance-dependent adolescents were recruited and tested in inpatient alcohol and drug abuse treatment programs after 3 weeks of abstinence. A matched sample of non-abusing adolescents was recruited from the same San Diego-area communities.
Substance-dependent adolescents (n = 101) met DSM-III-R criteria for dependence on alcohol and at least one other substance. Non-abusing adolescents (n = 50) had no substance use disorders. Groups were comparable on socio-economic status. Participants were 44% female, ages 13-18, and had no serious head injuries or neurological disorders.
Information was gathered on demographics, family history, substance involvement, and conduct disorder behaviors and adolescents were administered neuropsychological tests covering language, visuospatial, verbal memory, attention and executive functioning domains.
The hypothesis was supported for language and attention tests. Substance involvement interacted with family history of alcohol dependence to predict language and attention functioning. Family history negative non-abusers performed better than the other adolescents.
The pattern of results suggests that family history of alcohol dependence and adolescent substance use are separate risk factors for poorer neuropsychological performance in youth.
Although there are increasing reports of methamphetamine use, studies examining the cognitive consequences of methamphetamine have not been performed on a population currently using the drug. To characterize this population, 65 people currently using MA regularly and 65 non-users were given a battery of cognitive tests. The battery included recall, recognition, Digit Symbol, Trail Making A & B, Stroop, Wisconsin Card Sort, backward digit span, and the FAS test of verbal fluency. The methamphetamine users were significantly more impaired on recall tasks, digit symbol, Stroop color words, and Trail Making B, but scores fell within the normal ranges on the other measures.
To determine discriminative and convergent validity for certain structured diagnostic assessments among adolescents with conduct and substance problems.
Patients were 87 adolescents (both genders) in treatment for conduct and substance problems. Most controls (n = 85; both genders) came from patients' neighborhoods. Assessments included Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children, Composite International Diagnostic Instrument-Substance Abuse Module, Child Behavior Checklist, and others. Patients' data guided clinical care.
Youths' self-reports significantly discriminated patients from controls in DSM-IVconduct and substance use disorders (CD, SUD) and in numerous associated measures. CD and SUD symptoms correlated strongly. However, some patients apparently minimized symptoms. Youths' self-reports did not discriminate patients from controls in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or major depression (MDD). Parent information raised prevalence rates of ADHD and MDD, which then discriminated patients from controls. However, patients and parents usually disagreed on MDD and ADHD diagnoses.
Despite some dissimulation, patients' self-reports of CD and SUD correlated highly and had superb discriminative validity, making them useful for treatment and research. Self-reports of ADHD and MDD, apparently lacking discriminative validity, are less useful. Parent reports improve these discriminations but present additional problems.
While numerous studies have implicated both anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortex in attentional control, the nature of their involvement remains a source of debate. Here we determine the extent to which their relative involvement in attentional control depends upon the levels of processing at which the conflict occurs (e.g., response, non-response). Using a combination of blocked and rapid presentation event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques, we compared neural activity during incongruent Stroop trial types that produce conflict at different levels of processing. Our data suggest that the involvement of anterior cingulate and right prefrontal cortex in attentional control is primarily limited to situations of response conflict, while the involvement of left prefrontal cortex extends to the occurrence of conflict at non-response levels.
We used fMRI to investigate developmental changes in brain activation during a Stroop color-word interference task. A positive correlation was observed between age and Stroop-related activation (n = 30) in the left lateral prefrontal cortex, the left anterior cingulate, and the left parietal and parieto-occipital cortices. No regions showed a negative correlation between activation and age. We further investigated age-related differences by stratifying the sample into three age groups: children (ages 7-11), adolescents (ages 12-16), and young adults (ages 18-22). Young adult subjects (n = 11) displayed significant activation in the inferior and middle frontal gyri bilaterally, the left anterior cingulate, and bilateral inferior and superior parietal lobules. Between-group comparisons revealed that young adults had significantly greater activation than adolescent subjects (n = 11) in the left middle frontal gyrus and that young adults showed significantly greater activation than children (n = 8) in the anterior cingulate and left parietal and parieto-occipital regions, as well as in the left middle frontal gyrus. Compared to children, both adult and adolescent subjects exhibited significantly greater activation in the parietal cortex. Adult and adolescent groups, however, did not differ in activation for this region. Together, these data suggest that Stroop task-related functional development of the parietal lobe occurs by adolescence. In contrast, prefrontal cortex function contributing to the Stroop interference task continues to develop into adulthood. This neuromaturational process may depend on increased ability to recruit focal neural resources with age. Findings from this study, the first developmental fMRI investigation of the Stroop interference task, provide a template with which normal development and neurodevelopmental disorders of prefrontal cortex function can be assessed.
Cognitive impairments influence alcohol and drug treatment outcomes, though little is known about how neurocognition affects the development of harmful substance use patterns. This study examined the influence of adolescent attention functioning on the development of substance use problems in 66 high-risk youths over an 8-year period.
Participants were community youths who were free from any history of substance use disorders, neurological illness, and mood, anxiety, or psychotic disorders at project intake and were administered neuropsychological tests and substance involvement interviews from ages 15 through 23 on average. Substance involvement was assessed by self-report, resource person reports, and randomly sampled toxicology screens.
Attention/executive functioning scores obtained at the intake neuropsychological assessment significantly predicted substance use and dependence symptoms 8 years later, even after controlling for intake substance involvement, gender, education, conduct disorder, family history of substance use disorders, and learning disabilities.
These results suggest that adolescents with limited attentional abilities, but not necessarily attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder diagnoses, may be at risk for developing more problematic alcohol and drug involvement. Thus prevention and treatment efforts should target youths with attentional difficulties by using programs that are effective for those with compromised concentration and processing abilities.
This study examined the ability to inhibit and execute behavioral responses in adult cocaine users and in an aged-matched sample with no history of cocaine use. Subjects (n=22) were identified as cocaine users by testing positive for the presence of cocaine or benzoylecgonine in urine-analysis and by self-reported cocaine use. Control subjects (n=22) tested negative in urine-analysis and reported no past cocaine use. Response inhibition and response execution were measured by a stop-signal paradigm using a choice reaction time task that engaged subjects in responding to go-signals when stop-signals occasionally informed them to inhibit the response. Cocaine users displayed significantly poorer ability to inhibit their behavioral responses than did controls. Specifically, cocaine users required more time to inhibit responses to stop-signals and displayed a lower probability of inhibiting their responses. Cocaine users did not differ from controls in their ability to execute responses as measured by their speed and accuracy of responses to go-signals. These findings are important because they identify a specific deficit involving behavioral inhibition that could contribute to cocaine abuse, and explain its association with other disorders of self-regulation, such as ADHD.
Few well-controlled studies have examined psychomotor and cognitive performance in methadone maintenance patients (MMP). In the present study, performance of 18 opioid-dependent MMP was evaluated relative to that of 21 control participants without substance abuse histories. The MMP and control groups were balanced with respect to gender, race, age, years of education, current employment status, current reading level, and estimated IQ score. Recent drug abstinence was verified by urine testing. Participants with a urine screen positive for benzodiazepines or a breathalyzer test positive for alcohol prior to performance testing were excluded. To avoid testing under conditions of acute heroin or cocaine intoxication, but without testing under conditions of acute withdrawal, participants with current use of heroin or cocaine were only required to abstain for 24 h prior to performance testing. MMP exhibited impairment relative to controls in psychomotor speed (digit symbol substitution and trail-making tests), working memory (two-back task), decision making (gambling task), and metamemory (confidence ratings on a recognition memory test); results also suggested possible impairment in inhibitory mechanisms (Stroop color-word paradigm). MMP did not exhibit impairment in time estimation, conceptual flexibility or long-term memory. The wide range of impaired functions is striking, and may have important implications for daily functioning in MMP. Further research is necessary to determine the clinical significance of the impairments in laboratory-based tests for daily performance in the natural environment, as well as to differentiate impairments due to acute methadone dosing, chronic methadone maintenance, chronic poly-drug abuse, and other factors.
Several recent studies of aging and cognition have attributed decreases in the efficiency of working memory processes to possible declines in attentional control, the mechanism(s) by which the brain attempts to limit its processing to that of task-relevant information. Here we used fMRI measures of neural activity during performance of the color-word Stroop task to compare the neural substrates of attentional control in younger (ages: 21-27 years old) and older participants (ages: 60-75 years old) during conditions of both increased competition (incongruent and congruent neutral) and increased conflict (incongruent and congruent neutral). We found evidence of age-related decreases in the responsiveness of structures thought to support attentional control (e.g., dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal cortices), suggesting possible impairments in the implementation of attentional control in older participants. Consistent with this notion, older participants exhibited more extensive activation of ventral visual processing regions (i.e., temporal cortex) and anterior inferior prefrontal cortices, reflecting a decreased ability to inhibit the processing of task-irrelevant information. Also, the anterior cingulate cortex, a region involved in evaluatory processes at the level of response (e.g., detecting potential for error), showed age-related increases in its sensitivity to the presence of competing color information. These findings are discussed in terms of newly emerging models of attentional control in the human brain.
The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLFPC), not the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), plays the predominant role in implementing top-down attentional control. To do so, we used fMRI to examine practice-related changes in neural activity during a variant of the Stroop task. The results indicated that the DLPFC's activity decreased gradually as the need for control was reduced (as indexed by behavioral measures), while the ACC's activity dropped off rapidly. Such a pattern is consistent with the DLPFC taking a leading role in implementing top-down attentional control and the ACC being involved in other aspects of attentional control, such as response-related processes. In addition, with practice, there was a reduction in activity within cortical systems handling the processing of task-irrelevant information capable of interfering with task performance. This finding suggests that with practice the brain is capable of identifying and strategically inhibiting such processing.
Prior work indicates that various aspects of task-irrelevant information (e.g. its salience, task-relatedness, emotionality) can increase the involvement of prefrontal cortex (PFC) in top-down attentional control. In light of these findings, we hypothesize that PFC's involvement increases when task-irrelevant information competes for priority in processing. In an event-related fMRI study using an oddball variant of the Stroop task, we examine the generality of this hypothesis using three manipulations designed to increase the ability of task-irrelevant information to compete for priority in processing. First, we investigated how the frequency of occurrence of task-irrelevant information affects PFC activity. Second, we examined whether conflicting color information (i.e. incongruent trials) increases activity in regions of PFC that are similar to or distinct from those sensitive to infrequently occurring task-irrelevant information. Finally, we examined the impact of the number of levels at which conflict could occur (e.g. non-response only, non-response and response). Activity in posterior-dorsolateral and posterior-inferior PFC increased for infrequently occurring task-irrelevant information, being largest when the task-irrelevant information contained conflicting color-information. In contrast, increases in mid-dorsolateral prefrontal cortex's activity were only noted when conflicting color information was present, being largest when conflict occurred at multiple levels. The anterior cingulate was primarily sensitive to the occurrence of conflict at the response level with only a small sub-region exhibiting sensitivity to non-response conflict as well. From these findings we suggest that posterior DLPFC and PIPFC are involved in biasing processing in posterior processing systems, mid-DLPFC is involved in biasing the processing of the contents of working memory, and ACC is primarily involved in response-related processes.
3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA or ecstasy) is a potent and selective serotonin neurotoxin whose use is growing among adolescents. Although cognitive deficits among adult MDMA users are well documented, little is known of the cognitive and brain functional sequelae of MDMA use during adolescence.
We tested for evidence of cognitive deficits and changes in brain function in a pilot sample of adolescent MDMA users, who were compared with adolescent non-users of MDMA.
Selective and divided attention and verbal working memory were examined in six adolescent MDMA users and six non-users of MDMA who were similar in age, gender, IQ, and other substance use. Brain function was assessed during performance of the working memory task using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
MDMA users had significantly prolonged reaction times during tests of selective and divided attention, and failed to deactivate the left hippocampus normally during high verbal working memory load.
MDMA use in adolescence may be associated with cognitive impairments and dysfunction of inhibitory circuits within the hippocampus. Further work is urgently needed to delineate the developmental impact and long-term functional and clinical significance of MDMA use during adolescence.
Neuropsychological and imaging studies of patients with antisocial (ASPD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) are suggestive of frontal lobe dysfunction in these individuals. In normal subjects functional brain imaging has been used to investigate the neuroanatomy of impulse control. There are no such imaging studies in personality-disordered populations.
This study aimed to investigate which neuronal networks are involved in response inhibition in Cluster B personality disorders and whether these are different from healthy subjects.
We hypothesized that the personality-disordered sample would have attenuated orbitofrontal cortex responses during performance of a Go/NoGo task compared with healthy controls.
Eight inpatients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of borderline or antisocial personality disorder and eight healthy controls were scanned using fMRI while performing a Go/NoGo task. Impulsivity was assessed using the Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS) and the Impulsiveness-Venturesomeness-Empathy (IVE) inventory.
In the control group the main focus of activation during response inhibition was in the prefrontal cortex, specifically the right dorsolateral and the left orbitofrontal cortex. Active regions in the patient group showed a more bilateral and extended pattern of activation across the medial, superior and inferior frontal gyri extending to the anterior cingulate.
fMRI is a useful tool to detect brain activation during response inhibition. ASPD and BPD patients activate different neural networks to successfully inhibit pre-potent responses.
The purpose of this experiment was to directly examine the neural mechanisms of attentional control involved in the Simon task as compared to a spatial Stroop task using event-related fMRI. The Simon effect typically refers to the interference people experience when there is a stimulus-response conflict. The Stroop effect refers to the interference people experience when two attributes of the same stimulus conflict with each other. Although previous imaging studies have compared the brain activation for each of these tasks performed separately, none had done so in an integrated task that incorporates both types of interference, as was done in the current experiment. Both tasks activated brain regions that serve as a source of attentional control (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and posterior regions that are sites of attentional control (the visual processing stream-middle occipital and inferior temporal cortices). In addition, there were also specific brain regions activated to a significantly greater degree by one task and/or only by a single task. The brain regions significantly more activated by the Simon task were those sensitive to detection of response conflict, response selection, and planning (anterior cingulate cortex, supplementary motor areas, and precuneus), and visuospatial-motor association areas. In contrast, the regions significantly more activated by the Stroop task were those involved in biasing the processing toward the task-relevant attribute (inferior parietal cortex). These findings suggest that the interference effects of these two tasks are caused by different types of conflict (stimulus-response conflict for the Simon effect and stimulus-stimulus conflict for the Stroop effect) but both invoke similar sources of top-down modulation.
Cannabis is the most common illicit substance used by adolescents. This paper reports results of a pilot study using fMRI and a working memory task to compare brain function of adolescent cannabis users to that of two control groups, one matched for tobacco use and the other for nonsmokers.
Antisocial behavior and substance dependence disorders exact a heavy financial and human cost on society. A better understanding of the mechanisms of familial transmission for these "externalizing" disorders is necessary to better understand their etiology and to help develop intervention strategies.
To determine the extent to which the family transmission of externalizing disorders is due to a general vs a disorder-specific vulnerability and, owing to the genetically informative nature of our data, to estimate the heritable vs environmental nature of these transmission effects.
We used structural equation modeling to simultaneously estimate the general and specific transmission effects of 4 externalizing disorders: conduct disorder, adult antisocial behavior, alcohol dependence, and drug dependence.
Participants were recruited from the community and were interviewed in a university laboratory.
The sample consisted of 542 families participating in the Minnesota Twin Family Study. All families included 17-year-old twins and their biological mother and father.
Symptom counts of conduct disorder, the adult criteria for antisocial personality disorder, alcohol dependence, and drug dependence.
Transmission of a general vulnerability to all the externalizing disorders accounted for most familial resemblance. This general vulnerability was highly heritable (h2 = 0.80). Disorder-specific vulnerabilities were also detected for conduct disorder, alcohol dependence, and drug dependence.
The mechanism underlying the familial transmission of externalizing disorders is primarily a highly heritable general vulnerability. This general vulnerability or common risk factor should be the focus of research regarding the etiology and treatment of externalizing disorders.
Previous studies have suggested neural disruption and reorganization in young and older adults with alcohol use disorders (AUD). However, it remains unclear at what age and when in the progression of AUD changes in brain functioning might occur.
Alcohol use disordered (n = 15) and nonabusing (n = 19) boys and girls aged 15 to 17 were recruited from local high schools. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected after a minimum of 5 days' abstinence as participants performed spatial working memory and simple motor tasks.
Adolescents with AUD showed greater brain response to the spatial working memory task in bilateral parietal cortices and diminished response in other regions, including the left precentral gyrus and bilateral cerebellar areas (clusters > or =943 microl; p < 0.05), although groups did not differ on behavioral measures of task performance. No brain response differences were observed during a simple finger-tapping task. The degree of abnormality was greater for teens who reported experiencing more withdrawal or hangover symptoms and who consumed more alcohol.
Adolescents with AUD show abnormalities in brain response to a spatial working memory task, despite adequate performance, suggesting that subtle neuronal reorganization may occur early in the course of AUD.
Neuropsychological investigations of substance abusers have reported impairments on tasks mediated by the frontal executive system, including functions associated with behavioral inhibition and decision making. The higher order or executive components which are involved in decision making include selective attention and short term storage of information, inhibition of response to irrelevant information, initiation of response to relevant information, self-monitoring of performance, and changing internal and external contingencies in order to "stay the course" towards the ultimate goal. Given the hypothesized role of frontal systems in decision making and the previous evidence that executive dysfunctions and structural brain changes exist in subjects who use illicit drugs, we applied fMRI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) techniques in a pilot investigation of heavy cannabis smokers and matched control subjects while performing a modification of the classic Stroop task. Marijuana smokers demonstrated significantly lower anterior cingulate activity in focal areas of the anterior cingulate cortex and higher midcingulate activity relative to controls, although both groups were able to perform the task within normal limits. Normal controls also demonstrated increased activity within the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during the interference condition, while marijuana smokers demonstrated a more diffuse, bilateral pattern of DLPFC activation. Similarly, although both groups performed the task well, marijuana smokers made more errors of commission than controls during the interference condition, which were associated with different brain regions than control subjects. These findings suggest that marijuana smokers exhibit different patterns of BOLD response and error response during the Stroop interference condition compared to normal controls despite similar task performance. Furthermore, DTI measures in frontal regions, which include the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum and bilateral anterior cingulate white matter regions, showed no between group differences in fractional anisotropy (FA), a measure of directional coherence within white matter fiber tracts, but a notable increase in trace, a measure of overall isotropic diffusivity in marijuana smokers compared to controls. Overall, results from the present study indicate significant differences in the magnitude and pattern of signal intensity change within the anterior cingulate and the DLPFC during the Stroop interference subtest in chronic marijuana smokers compared to normal controls. Furthermore, although chronic marijuana smokers were able to perform the task reasonably well, the functional activation findings suggest they utilize different cortical processes from the control subjects in order to do so. Findings from this study are consistent with the notion that substance abusers demonstrate evidence of altered frontal neural function during the performance of tasks that involve inhibition and performance monitoring, which may affect the ability to make decisions.
In this event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we provide evidence that the role of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in cognitive control may not be unitary, as the responses of different ACC subregions vary depending upon the nature of task-irrelevant information. More specifically, using the color-word Stroop task (congruent, incongruent, and neutral trial types), we examined the degree to which increases in neural activity within ACC are specific to conditions of conflict, as posited by the conflict monitoring theory (Botvinick et al. [1999]: Rev Neurosci 10:49-57; Carter et al. [1998]: Science 280:747-749). Although incongruent and congruent trials both involve two competing sources of color information (color word and ink color), only incongruent trials involve a direct conflict between task-relevant and task-irrelevant information. Although the anterior division of the ACC rostral zone exhibited conflict specific increases in neural activity (i.e., incongruent > congruent = neutral), the posterior division exhibited a more generalized pattern, increasing whenever the task-irrelevant information was color related, regardless of whether it was conflicting (i.e., incongruent and congruent > neutral). Our data thus suggest a possible functional differentiation within the ACC. As such, it is unlikely that the role of the ACC in cognitive control will be able to be accommodated by a single unifying theory.
Alcohol and marijuana use are prevalent in adolescence, yet the neural impact of concomitant use remains unclear. We previously demonstrated functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) response to spatial working memory (SWM) among teens with alcohol use disorders (AUD) compared to controls, and predicted that adolescents with marijuana and alcohol use disorders would show additional abnormalities. Participants were three groups of 15-17-year-olds: 19 non-abusing controls, 15 AUD teens with limited exposure to drugs, and 15 teens with comorbid marijuana and alcohol use disorders (MAUD) and minimal other drug experience. After >2 days' abstinence, participants performed a SWM task during fMRI acquisition. fMRI brain response patterns differed between groups, despite similar performance on the task. MAUD youths showed less activation in inferior frontal and temporal regions than controls, and more response in other prefrontal regions. Compared to AUD teens, MAUD youths also showed less inferior frontal and temporal activation, but more medial frontal response. Overall, MAUD youths showed different brain response abnormalities than teens with AUD alone, despite relatively short histories of substance involvement. This pattern could suggest compensation for marijuana-related attention and working memory deficits. However, relatively recent use and premorbid features may influence results, and should be examined in future studies.
In this experiment using a color-word Stroop task, we explored whether different regions of prefrontal cortex bias selection of response-related processes as compared with non-response-related processes. To manipulate demands at the level of response selection, we varied the degree of overlap between stimulus-response mappings in a manual Stroop task. To vary demands at a non-response level, we compared activation for incongruent trials (e.g. the word 'purple' in blue ink) that contain two color representations, one in the word and one in the ink color, to neutral trials (e.g. the word 'drawer' in blue ink), which contain only one color representation, that in the ink color. These manipulations had differential effects within prefrontal cortex. Both a region of right inferior frontal cortex and caudal regions of the cingulate were sensitive to the selection demands at the response-level and insensitive to demands at the non-response level. In contrast, a more anterior region of left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was sensitive to the number of color representations (i.e. incongruent versus neutral trials), but not to the overlap in stimulus-response mappings. Therefore, this study indicates a functional differentiation for implementing attentional control within prefrontal cortex.
Behavioral and neuropsychological evidence has often shown that children with conduct disorder drawn from clinical populations show problems with impulsivity and are impaired in motor tasks of inhibitory control. We explored the relation between conduct problems and inhibitory deficits in a community sample. Three domains of inhibition were explored in 54 adolescents with conduct problems compared to 53 age, IQ, sex, school, and ethnicity matched controls in 2 geographical areas. Motor response inhibition was assessed using the Stop task, verbal inhibition using the Hayling Sentence Completion test, and cognitive interference inhibition using the Stroop task. Adolescents with conduct problems showed deficits in executive and inhibitory processes of the motor response inhibition task, but were unimpaired in cognitive or verbal inhibitory control. No sex differences were observed and impairments were independent of IQ or geographical location. Findings suggest that motor deficits, rather than higher cognitive forms of inhibitory control, are a specific deficit in children with conduct problems, that girls are as affected as boys, and that motor impulsiveness is a dimensional trait associated with conduct problems, as it is also observed in the community.
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