Cumulative gains enhance striatal response to reward opportunities in alcohol-dependent patients.

ABSTRACT: Substance use disorder is characterized by a transition from volitional to compulsive responding for drug reward. A possible explanation for this transition may be that alcohol-dependent patients (ADP) show a general propensity for a history of rewarded instrumental responses, and these rewarded responses may boost the activation of motivational neurocircuitry for additional reward. Brain imaging studies of decision-making have demonstrated that ADP relative to controls (CON) often show altered neural activation in response to anticipating and receiving rewards, but the majority of studies have not investigated how past performance affects activation. A potential exists for ADP to show increased sensitivity to reward as a function of reward delivery history. In the current study, we used f

SUBMITTER: Gilman JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4758112 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature