Background and aimsImpulsivity is a risk factor for addictive behaviors. The UPPS-P impulsivity model has been associated with substance addiction and gambling disorder, but its role in other non-substance addiction-related behaviors is less understood. We sought to examine associations between UPPS-P impulsivity traits and indicators of multiple substance and non-substance addiction-related behaviors in youth with varying involvement in these behaviors.MethodsParticipants (N = 109, aged 16–26 years, 69% males) were selected from a national survey based on their level of externalizing problems to achieve a broad distribution of involvement in addiction-related behaviors. Participants completed the UPPS-P Questionnaire and standardized questionnaires assessing problematic use of substances (alcohol, cannabis, and other drugs) and non-substances (Internet gaming, pornography, and food). Regression analyses were used to assess associations between impulsivity traits and indicators of addiction-related behaviors.ResultsThe UPPS-P model was positively associated with indicators of all addiction-related behaviors except problematic Internet gaming. In the fully adjusted models, sensation seeking and lack of perseverance were associated with problematic use of alcohol, urgency was associated with problematic use of cannabis, and lack of perseverance was associated with problematic use of other drugs than cannabis. Furthermore, urgency and lack of perseverance were associated with binge eating and lack of perseverance was associated with problematic use of pornography.Discussion and conclusionsWe emphasize the role of trait impulsivity across multiple addiction-related behaviors. Our findings in at-risk youth highlight urgency and lack of perseverance as potential predictors for the development of addictions and as potential preventative therapeutic targets.

BackgroundBinge consumption of alcohol is a major societal problem associated with important cognitive, physiological and neurotoxic consequences. Converging evidence highlights the need to assess binge drinking (BD) and its effects on the developing brain while taking into account gender differences. Here, we compared the brain volumetric differences between genders in college-aged binge drinkers and healthy volunteers.MethodT1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of 30 binge drinkers (18 males) and 46 matched healthy volunteers (23 males) were examined using voxel-based morphometry. The anatomical scans were covaried with Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores. Whole brain voxel-wise group comparisons were performed using a cluster extent threshold correction.ResultsSeveral large clusters qualified with group-by-gender interactions were observed in prefrontal, striatal and medial temporal areas, whereby BD females had more volume than non-BD females, while males showed the inverse pattern of decreased volume in BD males and increased volume in non-BD males. AUDIT scores negatively correlated with volume in the right superior frontal cortex and precentral gyrus.ConclusionsThese findings dovetail with previous studies reporting that a state effect of BD in college-aged drinkers and the severity of alcohol use are associated with volumetric alterations in the cortical and subcortical areas of the brain. Our study indicates that these widespread volumetric changes vary differentially by gender, suggesting either sexual dimorphic endophenotypic risk factors, or differential neurotoxic sensitivities for males and females.

BackgroundCompulsive sexual behaviors (CSB) are relatively common and associated with significant personal and social dysfunction. The underlying neurobiology is still poorly understood. The present study examines brain volumes and resting state functional connectivity in CSB compared with matched healthy volunteers (HV).MethodsStructural MRI (MPRAGE) data were collected in 92 subjects (23 CSB males and 69 age‐matched male HV) and analyzed using voxel‐based morphometry. Resting state functional MRI data using multi‐echo planar sequence and independent components analysis (ME‐ICA) were collected in 68 subjects (23 CSB subjects and 45 age‐matched HV).ResultsCSB subjects showed greater left amygdala gray matter volumes (small volume corrected, Bonferroni adjusted P < 0.01) and reduced resting state functional connectivity between the left amygdala seed and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (whole brain, cluster corrected FWE P < 0.05) compared with HV.ConclusionsCSB is associated with elevated volumes in limbic regions relevant to motivational salience and emotion processing, and impaired functional connectivity between prefrontal control regulatory and limbic regions. Future studies should aim to assess longitudinal measures to investigate whether these findings are risk factors that predate the onset of the behaviors or are consequences of the behaviors. Hum Brain Mapp 38:1182–1190, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Rationale Identifying the predictors of relapse in detoxified alcohol-dependent patients is crucial for effective surveillance procedures and the optimization of treatment. Physiological measures such as functional MRI activity and heart rate variability have been shown as potential markers of relapse prediction. Objectives Our aim was to assess differential pupillary reactions to alcohol-related cues as an objective physiological candidate predictor of relapse. Methods We examined the relationship between cue-elicited pupillary reactions to alcohol stimuli and luminance-controlled neutral stimuli in 21 detoxified alcohol-dependent patients and subsequent relapse outcome at a 4-month follow-up. Results Differential pupillary dilation to alcohol stimuli as compared to neutral stimuli at 150 to 250 ms after stimulus onset substantially improved the model prediction of relapse outcome (additional 27% of variance) beyond that achieved from five standardized questionnaires on alcohol craving, alcohol use, problematic use severity, depressive tendencies, and duration of abstinence (47% of variance). In contrast, alcohol craving did not improve relapse model prediction. Conclusions This pilot study shows that alcohol-dependent patients with greater pupillary dilation to alcohol stimuli are more vulnerable to relapse, and that pupillometry presents as an important tool for addiction science.

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BackgroundControlling drinking behaviour requires the ability to block out distracting alcohol cues in situations in which drinking is inappropriate or harmful. However, at present few studies have investigated whether distraction and response inhibition to contextual alcohol cues are related to alcohol use in adolescents and young adults. We aimed to investigate whether tendencies towards distraction and failures of response inhibition in the presence of contextual alcohol cues, and alcohol craving were associated with higher levels of alcohol consumption, beyond what could be explained by demographic variables.MethodsTo test this, 108 participants (Mean age = 21.7, range = 16–27), whom were both drinkers and non-drinkers performed a modified Go/NoGo task tailored to measure distraction and response inhibition in the presence of alcohol cues relative to neutral stimuli. Alcohol craving was assessed using a visual analogue scale of craving for different types of alcohol cues. Levels of alcohol use and problematic alcohol use were assessed using a self-report measure of number of drinking days in the previous month and the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test. Data were analysed using sequential multiple regression using a zero-inflated negative binomial distribution model.ResultsDrinking days correlated with distraction but not response inhibition to contextual alcohol cues. Sequential regression analyses revealed that the inclusion of distraction bias accounted for 11% additional variance (significant) in alcohol use, in addition to that explained by demographics alone (17%). Craving for alcohol explained an additional 30% variance (significant) in alcohol use.ConclusionsThe results reported here support the idea that both biased distraction towards alcohol cues and alcohol craving are associated with preceding drinking days, but not necessarily drinking status. Further studies are warranted that address whether cognitive distraction to alcohol-related cues cause or is an effect of alcohol use among youth.

HighlightsPrior research shows that attentional biases to alcohol stimuli can be retrained.This experimental study added concealed operant conditioning of eye-gaze patterns.Results indicate effects only for the trained stimuli and did not generalize to untrained stimuli.

Impulsivity has been suggested as a neurocognitive endophenotype conferring risk across a number of neuropsychiatric conditions, including substance and behavioural addictions, eating disorders, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. We used a paradigm with interspecies translational validity (the four-choice serial reaction time task, 4CSRTT) to assess ‘waiting’ impulsivity in a youth sample (N=99, aged 16-26). We collected magnetization prepared 2 rapid acquisition gradient echoes (MP2RAGE) scans, which enabled us to measure R1, the longitudinal relaxation rate, a parameter closely related to tissue myelin content, as well as quantify grey matter volume. We also assessed inhibitory control (commission errors) on a Go/NoGo task, and measured decisional impulsivity (delay discounting) using the monetary choice questionnaire (MCQ). We found R1 of the bilateral ventral putamen was negatively correlated with premature responding, the index of waiting impulsivity on the 4CSRTT. Heightened impulsivity in youth was significantly and specifically associated with lower levels of myelination in the ventral putamen. Impulsivity was not associated with grey matter volume. The association with myelination was specific to waiting impulsivity: R1 was not associated with decisional impulsivity on the MCQ, or inhibitory control on the Go/NoGo task. We report that heightened waiting impulsivity, measured as premature responding on the 4CSRTT, is specifically associated with lower levels of ventral putaminal myelination, measured using R1. This may represent a neural signature of vulnerability to diseases associated with excessive impulsivity, and demonstrates the added explanatory power of quantifying the mesoscopic organization of the human brain, over and above macroscopic volumetric measurements.