Dataset Information

Effects of chronic cannabinoid exposure during adolescence on reward preference and mPFC activation in adulthood.

ABSTRACT: Cannabis is one of the most commonly used drugs among adolescents, with initial use beginning between the ages of 12 to 17. Although often perceived as a 'soft drug', both short- and long-term use have been associated with numerous adverse outcomes, including cognitive impairment, increased risk of substance abuse, and heightened risk of psychosis or schizophrenia in individuals with a predisposition. Further, the severity of these impairments is closely linked to initiation of use, i.e. earlier use increases risk. It has been suggested that adolescent vulnerability to the adverse consequences of cannabis use is due to ongoing brain development occurring during this time. Indeed, the adolescent brain continues to be remodeled well into adolescence and early adulthood, particularly in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been implicated in reward processing and decision-making and alterations in mPFC development due to adolescent cannabis exposure could impair these functions. To model the effects of cannabis on mPFC function, we administered the synthetic cannabinoid WIN 55, 212-2 (WIN) to male and female rats from postnatal day 30-60. Once animals reached adulthood, we used a Probabilistic Reward (PR) choice task to elicit PFC activity and measure how patterns of activity to task-related events were modulated by adolescent WIN-treatment. Adult animals showed subtle effects of WIN-treatment on choice patterns. During task performance, mPFC activity elicited by lever press at the time of choices and reward delivery following choices were reduced in WIN-treated animals. This lasting effect of WIN suggests an impairment of the maturation of excitatory-inhibitory balance of signals in mPFC during adolescence, which may alter executive function into adulthood.

SUBMITTER: Jacobs-Brichford E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6386194 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Effects of chronic cannabinoid exposure during adolescence on reward preference and mPFC activation in adulthood.

Jacobs-Brichford Eliza E Manson Kirk F KF Roitman Jamie D JD

Physiology & behavior 20181205

Cannabis is one of the most commonly used drugs among adolescents, with initial use beginning between the ages of 12 to 17. Although often perceived as a 'soft drug', both short- and long-term use have been associated with numerous adverse outcomes, including cognitive impairment, increased risk of substance abuse, and heightened risk of psychosis or schizophrenia in individuals with a predisposition. Further, the severity of these impairments is closely linked to initiation of use, i.e. earlier ...[more]

PMID: 30529340

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Project description:Mixed findings exist in studies comparing brain responses to reward in adolescents and adults. Here we examined the trajectories of brain response, functional connectivity and task-modulated network properties during reward processing with a large-sample longitudinal design. Participants from the IMAGEN study performed a Monetary Incentive Delay task during fMRI at timepoint 1 (T1; n = 1304, mean age=14.44 years old) and timepoint 2 (T2; n = 1241, mean age=19.09 years). The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was administrated at both T1 and T2 to assess a participant's alcohol use during the past year. Voxel-wise linear mixed effect models were used to compare whole brain response as well as functional connectivity of the ventral striatum (VS) during reward anticipation (large reward vs no-reward cue) between T1 and T2. In addition, task-modulated networks were constructed using generalized psychophysiological interaction analysis and summarized with graph theory metrics. To explore alcohol use in relation to development, participants with no/low alcohol use at T1 but increased alcohol use to hazardous use level at T2 (i.e., participants with AUDIT≤2 at T1 and ≥8 at T2) were compared against those with consistently low scores (i.e., participants with AUDIT≤2 at T1 and ≤7 at T2). Across the whole sample, lower brain response during reward anticipation was observed at T2 compared with T1 in bilateral caudate nucleus, VS, thalamus, midbrain, dorsal anterior cingulate as well as left precentral and postcentral gyrus. Conversely, greater response was observed bilaterally in the inferior and middle frontal gyrus and right precentral and postcentral gyrus at T2 (vs. T1). Increased functional connectivity with VS was found in frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital regions at T2. Graph theory metrics of the task-modulated network showed higher inter-regional connectivity and topological efficiency at T2. Interactive effects between time (T1 vs. T2) and alcohol use group (low vs. high) on the functional connectivity were observed between left middle temporal gyrus and right VS and the characteristic shortest path length of the task-modulated networks. Collectively, these results demonstrate the utility of the MID task as a probe of typical brain response and network properties during development and of differences in these features related to adolescent drinking, a reward-related behaviour associated with heightened risk for future negative health outcomes.

Dataset Information

Effects of chronic cannabinoid exposure during adolescence on reward preference and mPFC activation in adulthood.

Publications

Effects of chronic cannabinoid exposure during adolescence on reward preference and mPFC activation in adulthood.

Similar Datasets

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