Alcohol Use Disorder, But Not Cannabis Use Disorder, Symptomatology in Adolescents Is Associated With Reduced Differential Responsiveness to Reward Versus Punishment Feedback During Instrumental Learning.

Background: The two most commonly used illegal substances by adolescents in the United States are alcohol and cannabis. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) and cannabis use disorder (CUD) have been associated with dysfunction in decision-making processes in adolescents. One potential mechanism for these impairments is thought to be related to abnormalities in reward and punishment processing.

The neurovascular basis of processing speed differences in humans: A model-systems approach using multiple sclerosis.

Behavioral studies investigating fundamental cognitive abilities provide evidence that processing speed accounts for large proportions of performance variability between individuals. Processing speed decline is a hallmark feature of the cognitive disruption observed in healthy aging and in demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), neuromyelitis optica, and Wilson's disease. Despite the wealth of evidence suggesting a central role for processing speed in cognitive decline, the neural mechanisms of this fundamental ability remain unknown.

Cognitive-Communication Interventions for Youth with Traumatic Brain Injury.

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are relatively common in the pediatric population, yielding several potential challenges across a wide range of skills and abilities. Cognitive-communication disorders are particularly prevalent, with implications for long-term academic and social outcomes. While considerable evidence exists for identifying and characterizing the effects of cognitive-communication deficits, evidence informing effective interventions is still emerging.

Alcohol use disorder and cannabis use disorder symptomatology in adolescents is associated with dysfunction in neural processing of future events.

Two of the most commonly used substances by adolescents in the United States are cannabis and alcohol. Cannabis use disorder (CUD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are associated with impairments in decision-making processes. One mechanism for impaired decision-making in these individuals is thought to be an inability to adequately represent future events during decision-making.

Sex-related differences in subjective, but not neural, cue-elicited craving response in heavy cannabis users.

Background: Studies indicate that female cannabis users progress through the milestones of cannabis use disorder (CUD) more quickly than male users, likely due to greater subjective craving response in women relative to men. While studies have reported sex-related differences in subjective craving, differences in neural response and the relative contributions of neural and behavioral response remain unclear.

Methods: We examined sex-related differences in neural and behavioral response to cannabis cues and cannabis use measures in 112 heavy cannabis users (54 females).

Recent tobacco use has widespread associations with adolescent white matter microstructure.

Importance: Given the prevalence of alcohol, cannabis, and tobacco use during adolescence, it is important to explore the relative relationship of these three substances with brain structure.

Objective: To determine associations between recent alcohol, cannabis, and tobacco use and white and gray matter in a large sample of adolescents.

Design, Setting, And Participants: MRI data were collected in N = 200 adolescents ages 14-18 (M = 15.

Interaction of Cannabis Use and Aging: From Molecule to Mind.

Given the aging Baby Boomer generation, changes in cannabis legislation, and the growing acknowledgment of cannabis for its therapeutic potential, it is predicted that cannabis use in the older population will escalate. It is, therefore, important to determine the interaction between the effects of cannabis and aging. The aim of this report is to describe the link between cannabis use and the aging brain.

Alcohol use disorder and cannabis use disorder symptomatology in adolescents are differentially related to dysfunction in brain regions supporting face processing.

Despite extensive behavioral evidence of impairments in face processing and expression recognition in adults with alcohol or cannabis use disorders (AUD/CUD), neuroimaging findings have been inconsistent. Moreover, relatively little work has examined the relationship of AUD or CUD symptoms with face or expression processing within adolescents. Given the high prevalence of alcohol and cannabis use during adolescence, understanding how these usage behaviors interact with neural mechanisms supporting face and expression processing could have important implications for youth social and emotional functioning.

Reduced arterial compliance along the cerebrovascular tree predicts cognitive slowing in multiple sclerosis: Evidence for a neurovascular uncoupling hypothesis.

Background: Cognitive slowing occurs in ~70% of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. The pathophysiology of this slowing is unknown. Neurovascular coupling, acute localized blood flow increases following neural activity, is essential for efficient cognition.

Is (poly-) substance use associated with impaired inhibitory control? A mega-analysis controlling for confounders.

Many studies have reported that heavy substance use is associated with impaired response inhibition. Studies typically focused on associations with a single substance, while polysubstance use is common. Further, most studies compared heavy users with light/non-users, though substance use occurs along a continuum.

Executive function training in chronic traumatic brain injury patients: study protocol.

Background: Some individuals who sustain traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) continue to experience significant cognitive impairments chronically (months to years post injury). Many tests of executive function are insensitive to these executive function impairments, as such impairments may only appear during complex daily life conditions. Daily life often requires us to divide our attention and focus on abstract goals.

Threat Responsiveness as a Function of Cannabis and Alcohol Use Disorder Severity.

Two of the most commonly abused substances by adolescents in the United States are alcohol and cannabis, both of which are associated with adverse medical and psychiatric outcomes throughout the lifespan. Both are assumed to impact the development of emotional processing although findings on the direction of this impact have been mixed. Preclinical animal work and some functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) work with humans have suggested cannabis use disorder (CUD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) are associated with threat responsiveness.

Three-Dimensional Lesion Phenotyping and Physiologic Characterization Inform Remyelination Ability in Multiple Sclerosis.

Background And Purpose: Multiple sclerosis (MS) clinical management is based upon lesion characterization from 2-dimensional (2D) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) views. Such views fail to convey the lesion-phenotype (ie, shape and surface texture) complexity, underlying metabolic alterations, and remyelination potential. We utilized a 3-dimensional (3D) lesion phenotyping approach coupled with imaging to study physiologic profiles within and around MS lesions and their impacts on lesion phenotypes.

Cognitive Training and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Randomized Pilot Trial.

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a non-invasive stimulation, represents a potential intervention to enhance cognition across clinical populations including Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This randomized clinical trial in MCI investigated the effects of anodal tDCS (a-tDCS) delivered to left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) combined with gist-reasoning training (SMART) versus sham tDCS (s-tDCS) plus SMART on measures of cognitive and neural changes in resting cerebral blood flow (rCBF). We were also interested in SMART effects on cognitive performance regardless of the tDCS group.

The influence of oxytocin and vasopressin on men's judgments of social dominance and trustworthiness: An fMRI study of neutral faces.

Cues signaling trust and dominance are crucial for social life. Previous studies on the effects of oxytocin (OT) nasal sprays on trustworthiness evaluations have been inconsistent and its influence on dominance is unknown. Vasopressin (AVP) may also influence social cue perception, but even fewer investigations have evaluated this possibility.

Relative activation patterns associated with self-transcendent and self-enhancement core values: An fMRI study of basic human values theory concepts in males.

Core values have been shown to influence a variety of social behaviors, but research on the brain networks supporting their effects is sparse. While undergoing fMRI scanning, twenty male participants evaluated descriptions of real-world activities according to how worthwhile they were and how likely they were to participate in them. Each activity was categorized according to contexts conceptualized in the Basic Human Values Theory (BHVT) model of core values.

Differential dysfunctions related to alcohol and cannabis use disorder symptoms in reward and error-processing neuro-circuitries in adolescents.

Alcohol and cannabis are two of the most commonly used substances by adolescents and are associated with adverse medical and psychiatric outcomes. These adverse psychiatric outcomes may reflect the negative impact of alcohol and/or cannabis abuse on neural systems mediating reward and/or error detection. However, work indicative of this has mostly been conducted in adults with Alcohol and/or Cannabis Use Disorder (i.

Opposite Epigenetic Associations With Alcohol Use and Exercise Intervention.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a devastating public health problem in which both genetic and environmental factors play a role. Growing evidence supports that epigenetic regulation is one major mechanism in neuroadaptation that contributes to development of AUD. Meanwhile, epigenetic patterns can be modified by various stimuli including exercise.

Gulf War illness associated with abnormal auditory P1 event-related potential: Evidence of impaired cholinergic processing replicated in a national sample.

Our team previously reported event-related potential (ERP) and hyperarousal patterns from a study of one construction battalion of the U.S. Naval Reserve who served during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Event-related neural oscillation changes following reasoning training in individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment.

Emerging evidence suggests cognitive training programs targeting higher-order reasoning may strengthen not only cognitive, but also neural functions in individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). However, research on direct measures of training-induced neural changes, derivable from electroencephalography (EEG), is limited. The current pilot study examined effects of Gist Reasoning training (n = 16) compared to New Learning training (n = 16) in older adults with amnestic MCI on measures of event-related neural oscillations (theta and alpha band power) corresponding to Go/NoGo tasks during basic and superordinate semantic categorization.

Testing the role of the posterior cingulate cortex in processing salient stimuli in cannabis users: an rTMS study.

The posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and precuneus are hubs in the default mode network and play a role in processing external salient stimuli. Accordingly, activation in these regions has been associated with response to salient stimuli using drug cue-reactivity paradigms in substance using populations. These studies suggest that the PCC and precuneus may underlie deficits in processing salient stimuli that contribute toward the development of substance use disorders.

Adolescents show differential dysfunctions related to Alcohol and Cannabis Use Disorder severity in emotion and executive attention neuro-circuitries.

Alcohol and cannabis are two substances that are commonly abused by adolescents in the United States and which, when abused, are associated with negative medical and psychiatric outcomes across the lifespan. These negative psychiatric outcomes may reflect the detrimental impact of substance abuse on neural systems mediating emotion processing and executive attention. However, work indicative of this has mostly been conducted either in animal models or adults with Alcohol and/or Cannabis Use Disorder (AUD/CUD).

Cannabis users exhibit increased cortical activation during resting state compared to non-users.

Studies have shown altered task-based brain functioning as a result of cannabis use. To date, however, whether similar alterations in baseline resting state and functional organization of neural activity are observable in cannabis users remains unknown. We characterized global resting state cortical activations and functional connectivity via electroencephalography (EEG) in cannabis users and related these activations to measures of cannabis use.

Differential associations of combined vs. isolated cannabis and nicotine on brain resting state networks.

Concomitant cannabis and nicotine use is more prevalent than cannabis use alone; however, to date, most of the literature has focused on associations of isolated cannabis and nicotine use limiting the generalizability of existing research. To determine differential associations of concomitant use of cannabis and nicotine, isolated cannabis use and isolated nicotine use on brain network connectivity, we examined systems-level neural functioning via independent components analysis (ICA) on resting state networks (RSNs) in cannabis users (CAN, n = 53), nicotine users (NIC, n = 28), concomitant nicotine and cannabis users (NIC + CAN, n = 26), and non-users (CTRL, n = 30). Our results indicated that the CTRL group and NIC + CAN users had the greatest functional connectivity relative to CAN users and NIC users in 12 RSNs: anterior default mode network (DMN), posterior DMN, left frontal parietal network, lingual gyrus, salience network, right frontal parietal network, higher visual network, insular cortex, cuneus/precuneus, posterior cingulate gyrus/middle temporal gyrus, dorsal attention network, and basal ganglia network.