Chronic substance use can disrupt the reward function of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), biasing the ACC to favor goal-directed behaviors that converge on drug use. Here we used multimodal neuroimaging methods to ask whether modulating reward-related signaling in the ACC can reverse the atypical valuation of nondrug and drug rewards in abstinent smokers.
We first recorded functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 20 moderately dependent cigarette smokers (mean age = 25 years; no history of neuropsychiatric disorders), following an overnight period of abstinence, to identify regions of the left dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex associated with the anticipation of drug-related rewards (cigarette puff). Next, we recorded the reward positivity-an electrophysiological signal believed to index sensitivity of the ACC to rewards-while participants engaged in two feedback tasks to gain either monetary or cigarette rewards. Lastly, guided by functional magnetic resonance imaging data, a robotic arm positioned a repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation coil over a subject-specific dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex target, and 50 repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation pulses were delivered at 10 Hz (excitatory stimulation) immediately before each block of 10 trials of the money condition and at 1 Hz (inhibitory stimulation) before each block of 10 trials of the cigarette condition.
Our findings show that abstained smokers exhibited a heightened reward positivity to cigarette rewards relative to monetary rewards, and by applying excitatory or inhibitory repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation to a subject-specific frontal-cingulate reward pathway, this pattern of results was reversed.
By modulating how the brain links value to drug and nondrug rewards, novel brain-based treatments may finally be on the horizon.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 28 October 2017.
All research outputs
#8,993,778
of 26,505,350 outputs
Outputs from Biological Psychiatry
#3,563
of 6,735 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#151,035
of 429,160 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Biological Psychiatry
#44
of 52 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 26,505,350 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 43rd percentile – i.e., 43% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 6,735 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 18.8. This one is in the 31st percentile – i.e., 31% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 429,160 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 49th percentile – i.e., 49% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 52 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 13th percentile – i.e., 13% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
