AI Article Synopsis

  • The study examines how deficits in executive functioning and impulsivity influence risky sexual behavior, particularly in sexually active men who have sex with men.
  • Researchers investigated the neural activity during the Stroop task using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and correlated this with self-reported risky sexual practices.
  • Results show that men engaging in risky sexual behavior displayed different brain activation patterns, suggesting a distinct use of cognitive resources linked to impulse control in the prefrontal cortex.

Article Abstract

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.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5916767PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/abm/kax019DOI Listing

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