Sexual trauma history is associated with reduced orbitofrontal network strength in substance-dependent women.

AIM: Substance use disorders (SUDs) are highly comorbid with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD-SUD comorbidity is associated with greater functional impairments and relapse risk. Women with SUDs experience markedly higher rates of trauma and PTSD compared to men with SUDs, particularly due to sexual and domestic abuse. Despite the strong association between trauma exposure and SUDs, the neurobiological correlates are understudied, particularly among females with SUDs. However, there is indication of abnormal somatic and interoceptive processing in women with PTSD. The present study examines interoception-linked differences in intrinsic brain networks in a group of women with SUDs and varying histories of trauma exposure, some of whom have a current PTSD diagnosis. METHODS: Pre-intervention data were analyzed from a subset (N = 43) of women in SUD residential treatment recruited for a mindfulness-based intervention efficacy clinical trial. Participants diagnosed with PTSD (n = 14) or not (n = 29) performed a task which involved attending to the somatic and visceral sensations of the breathing cycle (interoception) while undergoing a functional MRI (fMRI) scan. FMRI analysis employed independent components analysis and dual regression. First, we assessed differences in functional connectivity of interoception-modulated functional networks among those with and without PTSD. Second, we tested associations between network strength and lifetime sexual violence exposure across all participants on networks that showed significant group differences. RESULTS: PTSD diagnosis was associated with reduced functional connectivity of an orbitofrontal network with the precuneus, mid-posterior insula, lateral prefrontal cortex and angular gyrus. OFC network strength was inversely associated with sexual violence exposure over-and-above the contribution of PTSD status alone. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide a novel network-level account of brain activity associated with PTSD among women with SUDs, which may inform treatment response in this subpopulation.

Using Neural Networks as Models of Personality Process: A Tutorial.

This paper presents a tutorial for creating neural network models of personality processes. Such models enable researchers to create explicit models of both personality structure and personality dynamics, and to address issues of recent concern in personality, such as, "If personality is stable, then how is it possible that within subject variability in personality states can be as large as or larger than between subject variability in personality?" or "Is it possible to understand personality dynamics and personality structure within a common framework?" We discuss why one should want to use neural networks, review what a neural network model is, review a previous model we have constructed, discuss how to conceptualize issues in such a way that they can be computationally modeled, show how that conceptualization can be translated into a model, and discuss the utility of such models for understanding personality structure and personality dynamics. To build our model we use a neural network modeling package called emergent that is freely available, and a specific architecture called Leabra to build a runnable model that addresses one of the questions posed above: How can within subject variability in personality related states be as large as between subject variability in personality?

Neurocognitive decision-making processes of casual methamphetamine users.

Neuroadaptations caused by chronic methamphetamine (MA) use are likely major contributors to high relapse rate following treatment. Thus, focusing intervention efforts at pre-empting addiction in vulnerable populations, thereby preventing MA-use-induced neurological changes that make recovery so challenging, may prove more effective than targeting chronic users. One approach is studying casual/recreational users, not diagnosed with substance use disorder. This group may be at high risk for addiction due to their experience with MA. On the other hand, they may be resilient against addiction since they were able to maintain casual use over the years and not become addicted. Understanding their neuro-cognitive characteristics during decision-making and risk-taking would help solve this dilemma and, may help identify intervention strategies. Unfortunately, research on neuro-cognitive characteristics of casual MA users is currently lacking. In this work we begin to address this deficit. This study was part of a larger investigation of neural correlates of risky sexual decision-making in men who have sex with men. While undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging, 31 casual MA users and 66 non-users performed the CUPS task, in which they decided to accept or refuse a series of mixed gambles. Convergent results from whole brain, region of interest and psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses are presented. Whole brain analysis identified an amygdala-striatal cluster with weaker activation in casual MA users compared to non-users during decision-making. Activity in that cluster inversely correlated with decisions to gamble: lower activation corresponded to higher risk taking. Using this cluster as a seed in PPI analyses, we identified a wide range of neural network differences between casual MA users and non-users. Parametric whole brain analyses identified clusters in the ventral striatum, posterior insula and precuneus where activations modulated by risk and reward were significantly weaker in casual MA users than in non-users. The striatal cluster identified in these analyses overlapped with the amygdala-striatal cluster. This work identified neural differences in casual MA users' reward processing and outcome learning systems which may underlie their increased real-world risk-taking. It suggests that while making decisions casual MA users focus primarily on potential gain unlike non-users who also take the riskiness of the choice into consideration.

Prefrontal Cortical Activity During the Stroop Task: New Insights into the Why and the Who of Real-World Risky Sexual Behavior.

Background: Research suggests that deficits in both executive functioning and trait impulsivity may play a role in risky sexual behavior. At the neural level, differences in regulation of the prefrontal cortex have been linked to impulsivity, measured neurocognitively and through self-report. The relationship between neurocognitive measures of executive control and trait impulsivity in predicting risky sexual behavior has not been investigated. Purpose: To investigate the relationship between neural functioning during the Stroop task and risky sexual behavior, as well as the effect of individual differences in urgent (positive and negative) impulsivity on this relationship. Methods: A total of 105 sexually active men who have sex with men completed the Stroop task during functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning. They also completed impulsivity inventories and self-reported their risky sexual behavior (events of condomless anal sex in the last 90 days). Results: Risky participants had greater activation than safe participants during the color congruent condition of the Stroop task in anterior cingulate cortex/dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, left frontal pole, and right insula. Across these regions, this neural activation mediated the link between (positive and/or negative) urgent impulsivity and risky sexual behavior. Conclusions: Findings suggest that the brains of men who engage in risky sexual behavior may employ a different distribution of cognitive resources during tasks of executive functioning than men who practice safe sex, and that this may relate to differences in the prefrontal cortical/fronto-insular system responsible for impulse control.

The role of the dorsal anterior insula in sexual risk: Evidence from an erotic Go/NoGo task and real-world risk-taking.

The insula plays an important role in response inhibition. Most relevant here, it has been proposed that the dorsal anterior insular cortex (dAIC) plays a central role in a salience network that is responsible for switching between the default mode network and the executive control network. However, the insula's role in sexually motivated response inhibition has not yet been studied. In this study, eighty-five 18- to 30-year-old sexually active men who have sex with men (MSM) performed an erotic Go/NoGo task while in an MRI scanner. Participants' real-world sexual risk-taking (frequency of condomless anal intercourse over the past 90 days) was then correlated with their neural activity during the task. We found greater activity in bilateral anterior insular cortex (both dorsal and ventral) on contrasts with stronger motivational information (attractive naked male pictures versus pictures of clothed, middle-aged females) and on contrasts requiring greater response inhibition (NoGo versus Go). We also found that activity in the right dAIC was negatively correlated with participants' real-world sexual risk-taking. Our results confirmed the involvement of the insular cortex in motivated response inhibition. Especially, the decreased right dAIC activity may reduce the likelihood that the executive control network will come online when individuals are faced with situations requiring inhibitory control and thus lead them to make more risky choices.

Virtually 'in the heat of the moment': insula activation in safe sex negotiation among risky men.

HIV is most prevalent among men who have sex with men (MSM), and although most MSM use condoms consistently during casual sex, some take risks. To better understand the psychology of those risky decisions, we examined neural correlates of playing a virtual sexual 'hook up' game in an functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner in MSM who had, in the past 90 days, been sexually risky (N = 76) or safe (N = 31). We found that during potentially risky sexual choices, previously risky MSM had more right insula activity than previously safe MSM. Real-life sexual risk was related to trait positive and negative urgency. Insula activity that differentiated risky and safe MSM was related to trait positive and negative urgency. Future work should further examine if, and to what extent, insula activation during safe sex negotiation drives MSM's rash risky sexual decision-making.

MINDFULNESS GOES TO SCHOOL: THINGS LEARNED (SO FAR) FROM RESEARCH AND REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCES.

Mindfulness-based curricula are being implemented in K-12 schools across the nation. Many of these programs, although well-considered and implemented, have little or no research support for their effectiveness. Recognizing the paucity of published research in this area, a sampling of school-based programs currently being implemented in the schools is reviewed. The programs reviewed are Inner Explorer, Master Mind and Moment Program, Mindfulness and Mind-Body Skills for Children, Mindful Schools, Resilient Kids, Still Quiet Place, Stress Reduction and Mindfulness Curriculum and Mindful Moment, and Wellness and Resilience Program. We offer a summary of research support for each program and discussion of unpublished, mostly qualitative indicators of feasibility, acceptability, efficacy, and effectiveness. Strengths and limitations of each program are described, along with suggestions for bolstering informative and useful research. We encourage researchers, educators, and mindfulness practitioners to work collaboratively to conduct rigorous program evaluations.

Roles of the Different Sub-Regions of the Insular Cortex in Various Phases of the Decision-Making Process.

This paper presents a coherent account of the role of the insular cortex (IC) in decision-making. We follow a conceptualization of decision-making that is very close to one previously proposed by Ernst and Paulus (2005): that the decision process is a progression of four phases: (1) re-focusing attention; (2) evaluation; (3) action; and (4) outcome processing, and we present evidence for the insula's role in all these phases. We review the existing work on insula's functional anatomy that subdivides the IC into posterior, dorsal anterior and ventral anterior regions. We re-map the results provided by the existing literature into these subdivisions wherever possible, to identify the components' role in each decision making phase. In addition, we identify a self-regulating quality of the IC focused on harm avoidance.

Revisiting the role of the insula in addiction.

Brain lesions that damage the insular cortex (IC) interrupt addictive behaviors, suggesting that drug addiction sensitizes the insula. However, neuroimaging studies seem to lead to an opposite picture: structural neuroimaging studies show reduced gray matter volume of the IC of drug users, and functional neuroimaging studies show reduced IC activity when drug users perform decision-making tasks. These results have been interpreted as indicating that addictive behaviors are associated with reduced interoceptive signaling within the IC. Here, we use this apparent contradiction to examine the possible roles of the insula in addiction, identify open questions, and explore ways to address them.

Common neural mechanisms underlying reversal learning by reward and punishment.

Impairments in flexible goal-directed decisions, often examined by reversal learning, are associated with behavioral abnormalities characterized by impulsiveness and disinhibition. Although the lateral orbital frontal cortex (OFC) has been consistently implicated in reversal learning, it is still unclear whether this region is involved in negative feedback processing, behavioral control, or both, and whether reward and punishment might have different effects on lateral OFC involvement. Using a relatively large sample (N = 47), and a categorical learning task with either monetary reward or moderate electric shock as feedback, we found overlapping activations in the right lateral OFC (and adjacent insula) for reward and punishment reversal learning when comparing correct reversal trials with correct acquisition trials, whereas we found overlapping activations in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) when negative feedback signaled contingency change. The right lateral OFC and DLPFC also showed greater sensitivity to punishment than did their left homologues, indicating an asymmetry in how punishment is processed. We propose that the right lateral OFC and anterior insula are important for transforming affective feedback to behavioral adjustment, whereas the right DLPFC is involved in higher level attention control. These results provide insight into the neural mechanisms of reversal learning and behavioral flexibility, which can be leveraged to understand risky behaviors among vulnerable populations.