Cocaine dependence modulates the effect of HIV infection on brain activation during intertemporal decision making

Abstract

Background Both HIV infection and chronic cocaine use alter the neural circuitry of decision making, but the interactive effects of these commonly comorbid conditions have not been adequately examined. This study tested how cocaine moderates HIV-related neural activation during an intertemporal decision-making task. Methods The sample included 73 participants who differed on cocaine and HIV status (18 COC+/HIV+, 19 COC+/HIV-, 19 COC-/HIV+, 17 COC-/HIV-). Participants made choices between smaller, sooner and larger, delayed rewards while undergoing functional MRI. Choices varied in difficulty based on subjective value: hard (equivalently valued), easy (disparately valued), and control choices. A mixed-effects model controlling for education and smoking identified main and interactive effects of HIV and COC during hard relative to easy choices (difficulty contrast). Results COC+ status was associated with lower activation in bilateral frontal gyri and right insular and posterior parietal cortices. HIV+ status was associated with higher activation in the visual cortex, but lower activation in bilateral prefrontal cortices and cerebellum and left posterior parietal cortex. COC moderated the effects of HIV in several clusters centered in the bilateral prefrontal cortices and cerebellum. In post-hoc analyses, there were significant effects of HIV status on activation for COC+, but not COC-, participants; interaction effects remained after controlling for polysubstance use. Conclusion Cocaine use may diminish the compensatory neural activation often seen among HIV+ samples during decision making. Our results highlight the importance of examining the neuropsychiatric effects of comorbid medical conditions to identify potential neural targets for cognitive remediation interventions.

Neuroimaging Impaired Response Inhibition and Salience Attribution in Human Drug Addiction: A Systematic Review

“…Table 1). Finally, while there were few effects during the decision making phase, two studies reported disengagement of the executive network (vlPFC/dlPFC) during high risk or difficult decisions (Kohno et al, 2014; Meade et al, 2017).…”

Synergistic effects of marijuana abuse and HIV infection on neural activation during a cognitive interference task

“…This pattern of hyperactivation within task-relevant regions and engagement of additional regions has been interpreted as a compensatory mechanism to preserve cognitive performance in the context of neural injury, which can only be maintained up to a certain level of difficulty (Hakkers et al, 2017). Additional studies focused on cocaine suggest that drug abuse may further exhaust neural resources in HIV+ persons, as evidenced by hypoactivation in task-relevant regions (Meade et al, 2018; Meade et al, 2017; Meyer et al, 2014). However, the effects of marijuana abuse on neural activation patterns have not been examined.…”

Withaferin A Suppresses Beta Amyloid in APP Expressing Cells: Studies for Tat and Cocaine Associated Neurological Dysfunctions

“…These powerfully addictive stimulant drug molecules have been studied to have an exaggerating effect during HIV infection (Jayant et al, 2017 ). Cocaine (coc), a very common abused drug within PLWH, exerts malicious effects on the CNS (Javadi-Paydar et al, 2017 ; Meade et al, 2017 ; Wakim et al, 2017 ). In the presence of coc, the additive effect of HIV-1 Tat and coc may increase Aβ aggregation, which is a common factor in aging and HIV associated neurological disorders.…”