Functional alteration in frontolimbic systems relevant to moral judgment in cocaine-dependent subjects.
Addict Biol
; 19(2): 272-81, 2014 Mar.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-22784032
ABSTRACT
Cocaine addiction is characterized by persistent decision-making deficits, which are linked to structural and functional abnormalities in frontolimbic systems. Moral judgment is as a special instance of decision making, in which both cognitive and emotional signals must be adequately integrated to decide how to resolve moral dilemmas. Here, we employed a moral dilemmas functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task to explore possible alterations of frontolimbic systems in cocaine-dependent subjects. We also explored if these alterations relate to more basic deficits in functional connectivity within these systems during spontaneous resting-state activation. Ten cocaine-dependent subjects and 14 non-drug-using controls participated in the study. Cocaine-dependent subjects were carefully selected to discard potentially confounding co-morbidities, and they underwent a uniform supervised abstinence period of 10 days. Both groups were scanned, and fMRI maps were generated to identify (1) brain response to moral dilemmas; and (2) the strength of functional connectivity within frontolimbic systems during resting-state. During the moral dilemmas task, cocaine-dependent subjects showed reduced activation involving frontolimbic structures as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), left insula and brain stem. Connectivity analyses showed that cocaine users had less resting-state functional connectivity between ACC, thalamus, insula and brain stem. These results demonstrate that cocaine-dependent subjects have functional alterations in the frontolimbic systems that support moral judgment and social decision making.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Mapeamento Encefálico
/
Córtex Pré-Frontal
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Transtornos Relacionados ao Uso de Cocaína
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Julgamento
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Sistema Límbico
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Princípios Morais
Tipo de estudo:
Observational_studies
Limite:
Adolescent
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Adult
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Addict Biol
Assunto da revista:
TRANSTORNOS RELACIONADOS COM SUBSTANCIAS
Ano de publicação:
2014
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Espanha