Neural correlates of impulse control during stop signal inhibition in cocaine-dependent men - PubMed (original) (raw)

Neural correlates of impulse control during stop signal inhibition in cocaine-dependent men

Chiang-shan Ray Li et al. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2008 Jul.

Abstract

Altered impulse control is associated with substance use disorders, including cocaine dependence. We sought to identify the neural correlates of impulse control in abstinent male patients with cocaine dependence (PCD). Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was conducted during a stop signal task that allowed trial-by-trial evaluation of response inhibition. Fifteen male PCD and 15 healthy control (HC) subjects, matched in age and years of education, were compared. Stop signal reaction time (SSRT) was derived on the basis of a horse race model. By comparing PCD and HC co-varied for stop success rate, task-related frustration rating, and post-error slowing, we isolated the neural substrates of response inhibition, independent of attentional monitoring (of the stop signal) and post-response processes including affective responses and error monitoring. Using region of interest analysis, we found no differences between HC and PCD who were matched in stop signal performance in the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) previously shown to be associated with SSRT. However, compared with HC, PCD demonstrated less activation of the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), an area thought to be involved in the control of stop signal inhibition. The magnitude of rACC activation also correlated negatively with the total score and the impulse control subscore of the Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Scale in PCD. The current study thus identified the neural correlates of altered impulse control in PCD independent of other cognitive processes that may influence stop signal performance. Relative hypoactivation of the rACC during response inhibition may represent a useful neural marker of difficulties in impulse control in abstinent cocaine-dependent men who are at risk of relapse.

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Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1

Stop signal paradigm. In ‘go’ trials (75%) observers responded to the go signal (a circle) and in ‘stop’ trials (25%) they had to withhold the response when they saw the stop signal (an X). In both trials the go signal appeared after a randomized time interval between 1 and 5 s (the fore-period or FP) following the appearance of the fixation point. The stop signal followed the go signal by a time delay—the stop signal delay (SSD). The SSD was updated according to a staircase procedure, whereby it increased and decreased by 64 ms following a stop success (SS) and a stop error (SE) trial, respectively.

Figure 2

Figure 2

(a) The dorsal medial frontal cortex (dmFC) as an ROI (Talairach coordinate: x = −4, y = 32, z = 51; Li et al, 2006a). The histograms show the effect size (mean ± SD) for the contrast SS > SE for patients with cocaine dependence (PCD) (filled bar) and healthy control (HC) (open bar). PCD and HC did not differ in dmFC activation during stop signal inhibition. On the right, linear regression shows that activation in dmFC correlates inversely with stop signal reaction time (SSRT), consistent with its motor-level role in response inhibition (PCD: filled circles; HC: open circles). (b) The rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) as an ROI (Talairach coordinate: x = −8, y = 35, z = 19; Li et al, 2006a). The histograms show the effect size (mean ± SD) for the contrast SS > SE for PCD (filled bar) and HC (open bar). PCD showed significantly decreased activation in the rACC, compared to HC, despite nonsignificant difference in SSRT. On the right, linear regression shows that the rACC activation does not correlate with SSRT, consistent with its control-level role in response inhibition (PCD: filled circles; HC: open circles).

Figure 3

Figure 3

The effect size of activity change in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) correlated with total score of the Difficulty in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS, a) and the impulse control subscale score of Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) (b).

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