Dysfunctional feedback processing in methamphetamine abuser; evidence from neurophysiological and computational analysis

Abstract

Methamphetamine use disorder associated with a dysfunctional neural feedback (reward and punishment) processing system and is considered a public health risk. Although several behavioral, computational, and electrocortical studies have explored feedback processing in other groups of individuals, the precise mechanisms of feedback processing dysfunction in methamphetamine use dependent (MUD) individuals remain unclear. Furthermore, our recent knowledge about the underlying feedback related connectivity patterns and intertwining latent components of behavior with electrocortical signals in MUDs remained quite poor. The present study intended to fill these gaps by exploring the behavioral and electrocortical responses of abstained MUDs during a feedback based learning paradigm. As mathematical models revealed, MUDs have less sensitivity to distinguishing optimal options (less sensitivity to options value) and learned less from negative feedback, compared with healthy controls. The MUDs also presented smaller medial-frontal theta (5 to 8 Hz) oscillations in response to negative feedback (300 to 550 ms post feedback) while other measures responsible for learning including, feedback-related negativity (FRN), parietal-P300, and a flux originated from medial frontal to lateral prefrontal remained intact for them. Further, in contrast to healthy controls, the observed association between feedback sensitivity and medialfrontal theta activity is eliminated in MUDs. We suggested that these results in MUDs may be due to the adverse effect of methamphetamine on the cortico-striatal dopamine circuit, reflected in anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity as the best candidate region responsible for efficient behavior adjustment. This study unveils the underlying neural mechanism of feedback processing in individuals with methamphetamine use history and could offer individual therapeutic approaches.

Tobacco smoking is associated with impaired error monitoring

“…However, the role of the delta band is understood to be broader, e.g., in motivation and the sustainment of concentration (Harmony 2013). Some studies provide evidence for attenuated theta and/or delta EROs, e.g., with problematic substance use (alcohol, nicotine, or cannabis) (Harper et al 2019), alcohol use disorder (AUD) (Kamarajan et al 2004;Jones et al 2006;Harper et al 2018) and methamphetamine use disorder (Ghaderi et al 2022). There is a general research opportunity to incorporate EROs in EM addiction research, and speci cally for tobacco smoking, the present study provides the rst cross-sectional results in the eld.…”

Individuals with Methamphetamine Use Disorder Show Reduced Directed Exploration and Learning Rates Independent of an Aversive Interoceptive State Induction

“…Furthermore, a longitudinal study of iMUDs found that participants who decreased methamphetamine use over a period of six weeks showed higher levels of DE by the end of that period 15 , supporting the idea that methamphetamine use may affect exploratory behavior. In addition to lower levels of exploration, iMUDs have been shown to engage in maladaptive belief-updating, which is often operationalized in terms of altered learning rates within computational models [16][17][18][19][20][21] . This overall pattern of altered sensitivity to, and learning from, choice outcomes may help explain continued use and high relapse rates despite reduced quality of life 22 .…”