Substance use and addiction are prominent global health concerns and are associated with abnormalities in reward sensitivity. Reward sensitivity and approach motivation are supported by a fronto-striatal neural circuit including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), ventral striatum (VS), and dorsal striatum (DS). Although research highlights abnormalities in reward neural circuitry among individuals with problematic substance use, questions remain about whether such use arises from excessively high, or excessively low, reward sensitivity. This study examined whether reward-related brain function predicted subsequent substance use course. Participants were 79 right-handed individuals (Mage = 21.52, SD = 2.19 years), who completed a monetary incentive delay (MID) fMRI task, and follow-up measures assessing substance use frequency and impairment. The average duration of the follow-up period was 9.1 months. Regions-of-interest analyses focused on the reward anticipation phase of the MID. Decreased activation in the VS during reward anticipation predicted increased substance use frequency at follow-up. Decreased DS activation during reward anticipation predicted increased substance use frequency at follow-up, but this finding did not pass correction for multiple comparisons. Analyses adjusted for relevant covariates, including baseline substance use and the presence or absence of a lifetime substance use disorder prior to MRI scanning. Results support the reward hyposensitivity theory, suggesting that decreased reward-related brain function is a risk factor for increased substance use. Results have implications for understanding the pathophysiology of problematic substance use and highlight the importance of the fronto-striatal reward circuit in the development and maintenance of addiction. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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与奖励相关的大脑功能的下降前瞻性地预示着物质使用的增加。


药物使用和成瘾是全球突出的健康问题，并且与奖励敏感性异常有关。奖励敏感性和接近动机由额纹状体神经回路支持，包括眶额皮质（OFC）、腹侧纹状体（VS）和背侧纹状体（DS）。尽管研究强调了物质使用有问题的个体奖励神经回路的异常，但关于这种使用是否源于奖励敏感性过高或过低的问题仍然存在。这项研究检查了与奖励相关的大脑功能是否可以预测随后的物质使用过程。参与者为 79 名右撇子（Mage = 21.52，SD = 2.19 岁），他们完成了货币激励延迟 (MID) fMRI 任务，以及评估物质使用频率和损害的后续措施。平均随访时间为 9.1 个月。感兴趣区域分析侧重于 MID 的奖励预期阶段。奖励预期期间 VS 激活的减少预示着后续物质使用频率的增加。奖励预期期间 DS 激活的减少预示着后续物质使用频率的增加，但这一发现并未通过多重比较的校正。针对相关协变量调整分析，包括基线物质使用以及 MRI 扫描之前是否存在终生物质使用障碍。结果支持奖赏敏感性低下理论，表明与奖赏相关的大脑功能下降是物质使用增加的危险因素。 结果对于理解有问题的物质使用的病理生理学具有重要意义，并强调了额纹状体奖励回路在成瘾的发展和维持中的重要性。 （PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2021 APA，保留所有权利）。