Dataset Information

Functional changes of the reward system underlie blunted response to social gaze in cocaine users.

ABSTRACT: Social interaction deficits in drug users likely impede treatment, increase the burden of the affected families, and consequently contribute to the high costs for society associated with addiction. Despite its significance, the neural basis of altered social interaction in drug users is currently unknown. Therefore, we investigated basal social gaze behavior in cocaine users by applying behavioral, psychophysiological, and functional brain-imaging methods. In study I, 80 regular cocaine users and 63 healthy controls completed an interactive paradigm in which the participants' gaze was recorded by an eye-tracking device that controlled the gaze of an anthropomorphic virtual character. Valence ratings of different eye-contact conditions revealed that cocaine users show diminished emotional engagement in social interaction, which was also supported by reduced pupil responses. Study II investigated the neural underpinnings of changes in social reward processing observed in study I. Sixteen cocaine users and 16 controls completed a similar interaction paradigm as used in study I while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. In response to social interaction, cocaine users displayed decreased activation of the medial orbitofrontal cortex, a key region of reward processing. Moreover, blunted activation of the medial orbitofrontal cortex was significantly correlated with a decreased social network size, reflecting problems in real-life social behavior because of reduced social reward. In conclusion, basic social interaction deficits in cocaine users as observed here may arise from altered social reward processing. Consequently, these results point to the importance of reinstatement of social reward in the treatment of stimulant addiction.

SUBMITTER: Preller KH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3932870 | biostudies-other | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Functional changes of the reward system underlie blunted response to social gaze in cocaine users.

Preller Katrin H KH Herdener Marcus M Schilbach Leonhard L Stämpfli Philipp P Hulka Lea M LM Vonmoos Matthias M Ingold Nina N Vogeley Kai K Tobler Philippe N PN Seifritz Erich E Quednow Boris B BB

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20140121 7

Social interaction deficits in drug users likely impede treatment, increase the burden of the affected families, and consequently contribute to the high costs for society associated with addiction. Despite its significance, the neural basis of altered social interaction in drug users is currently unknown. Therefore, we investigated basal social gaze behavior in cocaine users by applying behavioral, psychophysiological, and functional brain-imaging methods. In study I, 80 regular cocaine users an ...[more]

PMID: 24449854

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Dataset Information

Functional changes of the reward system underlie blunted response to social gaze in cocaine users.

Publications

Functional changes of the reward system underlie blunted response to social gaze in cocaine users.

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