High and low sensation seeking adolescents show distinct patterns of brain activity during reward processing.

Previous research has shown that personality characteristics, such as sensation seeking (SS), are strong predictors of risk-taking behavior during adolescence. However, the relationship between levels of SS and brain response has not been studied during this time period. Given the prevalence of risky behavior during adolescence, it is important to understand neurobiological differences in reward sensitivity between youth with high and low SS personalities. To this end, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine differences in brain activity in an adolescent sample that included 27 high (HSS) and 27 low sensation seekers (LSS), defined by the Impulsive Sensation Seeking scale of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (Zuckerman et al., 1993). In the scanner, participants played a modified Wheel of Fortune decision-making task (Cservenka and Nagel, 2012) that resulted in trials with monetary Wins or No Wins. We compared age- and sex-matched adolescent HSS and LSS (mean age=13.94±1.05) on brain activity by contrasting Win vs. No Win trials. Our findings indicate that HSS show greater bilateral insular and prefrontal cortex (PFC) brain response on Win vs. No Win compared to LSS. Analysis of simple effects showed that while LSS showed comparable brain activity in these areas during Wins and No Wins, HSS showed significant differences in brain response to winning (activation) vs. not winning (deactivation), with between-group comparison suggesting significant differences in brain response, largely to reward absence. Group differences in insular activation between reward receipt and absence may suggest weak autonomic arousal to negative outcomes in HSS compared with LSS. Additionally, since the PFC is important for goal-directed behavior and attention, the current results may reflect that HSS allocate fewer attentional resources to negative outcomes than LSS. This insensitivity to reward absence in HSS may lead to a greater likelihood of maladaptive choices when negative consequences are not considered, and may be an early neural marker of decreased loss sensitivity that has been seen in addiction. This neurobiological information may ultimately be helpful in establishing prevention strategies aimed at reducing youth risk-taking and suggests value in further examination of neural associations with personality characteristics during adolescence.

Advancing preventive interventions for pregnant women who are opioid using via the integration of addiction and mental health research.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review examines how research focused on treatment for opioid use in perinatal populations and preventive interventions for postpartum psychopathology have remained separate, despite significant overlap. RECENT FINDINGS: Guidelines for best practice in caring for pregnant women with opioid use disorder suggest the use of medication-assisted treatment with additional comprehensive care, including behavioral and mental health interventions. However, intervention research often mutually excludes these two populations, with studies of behavioral interventions for opioid use excluding women with psychopathology and research on preventive interventions for postpartum psychopathology excluding women who are substance using. SUMMARY: There is a limited evidence-base to inform the selection of appropriate preventive interventions for pregnant women with opioid use disorder that can address opioid use and/or treatment adherence and concurrent mental health risks. We argue it is critical to integrate research on pregnant women who are opioid using and preventive perinatal mental health interventions to catalyze pivotal change in how we address the opioid epidemic within this growing population.

White matter microstructure correlates of inhibition and task-switching in adolescents.

Although protracted prefrontal gray matter development is associated with concomitant executive function (EF) development in adolescents, few studies have explored the relationship between white matter and EF. This study examined the relationship between white matter microstructure and two aspects of EF, inhibition and task-switching, in a sample of 84 adolescents using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Tract-Based Spatial Statistics (TBSS) were used to examine fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD). Adolescents completed the Color-Word Interference task from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System, a clinical version of the Stroop task. Inhibition and task-switching performance were group normalized and measured using both reaction time and errors. Performance and the interaction of age and performance were regressed on FA and MD white matter skeletons, controlling for age and IQ, separately for inhibition and task-switching. Follow up analyses examined the relative contributions of axial and radial diffusivities. Greater FA in the anterior corona radiata (ACR) was associated with better inhibition, independent of age. Greater FA in the SCR and precentral gyrus white matter were associated with better task-switching, regardless of age, whereas an association between FA in the ACR and task-switching was dependent on age. There were no significant associations between MD and performance. Results suggest better inhibition and task-switching are associated with greater integrity of white matter microstructure in regions supporting cross-cortical and cortical-subcortical connections stemming from the prefrontal cortex. These findings are consistent with functional studies of cognitive control and models of EF that propose separate, yet related, latent factors.