Journal Article

FZJ-2014-03590

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png Functional changes of the reward system underlie blunted response to social gaze in cocaine users

Preller, K. H. (Corresponding Author) ; Herdener, M. ; Schilbach, L. ; Stampfli, P. ; Hulka, L. M. ; Vonmoos, M. ; Ingold, N. ; Vogeley, K.FZJ* ; Tobler, P. N. ; Seifritz, E. ; Quednow, B. B.

2014
Academy Washington, DC

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Please use a persistent id in citations: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/7820  doi:10.1073/pnas.1317090111

Abstract: Social interaction deficits in drug users likely impede treatment, increase the burden of the affected families, and consequently contribute to the high costs for society associated with addiction. Despite its significance, the neural basis of altered social interaction in drug users is currently unknown. Therefore, we investigated basal social gaze behavior in cocaine users by applying behavioral, psychophysiological, and functional brain-imaging methods. In study I, 80 regular cocaine users and 63 healthy controls completed an interactive paradigm in which the participants’ gaze was recorded by an eye-tracking device that controlled the gaze of an anthropomorphic virtual character. Valence ratings of different eye-contact conditions revealed that cocaine users show diminished emotional engagement in social interaction, which was also supported by reduced pupil responses. Study II investigated the neural underpinnings of changes in social reward processing observed in study I. Sixteen cocaine users and 16 controls completed a similar interaction paradigm as used in study I while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. In response to social interaction, cocaine users displayed decreased activation of the medial orbitofrontal cortex, a key region of reward processing. Moreover, blunted activation of the medial orbitofrontal cortex was significantly correlated with a decreased social network size, reflecting problems in real-life social behavior because of reduced social reward. In conclusion, basic social interaction deficits in cocaine users as observed here may arise from altered social reward processing. Consequently, these results point to the importance of reinstatement of social reward in the treatment of stimulant addiction.

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Contributing Institute(s):

1. Kognitive Neurowissenschaften (INM-3)

Research Program(s):

1. 333 - Pathophysiological Mechanisms of Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases (POF2-333) (POF2-333)
2. 89572 - (Dys-)function and Plasticity (POF2-89572) (POF2-89572)

Appears in the scientific report 2014

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Database coverage:
; ; BIOSIS Previews ; Current Contents - Agriculture, Biology and Environmental Sciences ; Current Contents - Life Sciences ; JCR ; NCBI Molecular Biology Database ; National-Konsortium ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Thomson Reuters Master Journal List ; Web of Science Core Collection ; Zoological Record

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