Dissecting impulsivity and its relationships to drug addictions

Abstract

Addictions are often characterized as forms of impulsive behavior. That said, it is often noted that impulsivity is a multidimensional construct, spanning several psychological domains. This review describes the relationship between varieties of impulsivity and addiction-related behaviors, the nature of the causal relationship between the two and the underlying neurobiological mechanisms that promote impulsive behaviors. We conclude that the available data strongly supports the notion that impulsivity is both a risk factor for, and a consequence of, drug and alcohol consumption. While the evidence indicating that subtypes of impulsive behavior are uniquely informative – either biologically or with respect to their relationships to addictions – is convincing, multiple lines of study link “distinct” subtypes of impulsivity to low dopamine D2 receptor function and perturbed serotonergic transmission, revealing shared mechanisms between the subtypes. Therefore, a common biological framework involving monoaminergic transmitters in key frontostriatal circuits may link multiple forms of impulsivity to drug self-administration and addiction-related behaviors. Further dissection of these relationships is needed before the next phase of genetic and genomic discovery will be able to reveal the biological sources of the vulnerability for addiction indexed by impulsivity.

The influence of groups and alcohol consumption on individual risk-taking

“…The current findings also support the contention that impulsivity should be conceptualised as a multifaceted construct (Jentsch et al, 2014;Patton et al, 1995;Stanford et al, 2009). Specifically, it was found that the sub-traits of impulsivity differed in their capacity to account for varying alcohol consumption behaviours.…”

In the Blink of an Eye: Relating Positive-Feedback Sensitivity to Striatal Dopamine D2-Like Receptors through Blink Rate

“…For example, D 2 -like receptor availability is influenced by receptor density, levels of endogenous ligand that compete for the same binding site as the radiotracer, or heterogeneity in pools of synaptic, extrasynaptic, and intracellular receptors that likely have different functional implications for neurotransmission (Guo et al, 2010;Ito et al, 2011). Therefore, the multiple potential influences on receptor availability have limited the interpretation of PET-based measures to clarify molecular abnormalities that occur in psychiatric disorders.…”

“…To accomplish this goal, we conducted in vitro and in vivo assessments of dopamine receptors within the same vervet monkeys and compared these measures to the behavioral performance of the same subjects in the reversal-learning task that, in part, measures inhibitory control (Izquierdo and Jentsch, 2012). We found that individual differences in striatal D 2 -like, but not D 1 -like, receptor availability measured with PET related to the function of D 2 -like receptors, determined by measuring spontaneous and dopamine agonist-induced eyeblink rate (EBR; Lowry et al, 1951), and D 2 -like receptor density assessed in postmortem homogenates.…”

Dysfunctional impulsivity in online gaming addiction and engagement

“…for review Grant, Potenza, Weinstein, & Gorelick, 2010;Lubman, Yücel & Pantelis, 2004;Volkow, Fowler & Wang, 2003). A core set of frontostriatal circuits was found in various types of impulsivity, substance addiction (Jentsch et al, 2014), and pathological gambling (elGuebaly, Mudry, Zohar, Tavares, & Potenza, 2011). Jentsch et al (2014) have shown a strong relationship between impulsivity and addiction-related behaviours, and also the potential susceptibility of those with poor impulse control for substance or behavioural addiction.…”

“…A core set of frontostriatal circuits was found in various types of impulsivity, substance addiction (Jentsch et al, 2014), and pathological gambling (elGuebaly, Mudry, Zohar, Tavares, & Potenza, 2011). Jentsch et al (2014) have shown a strong relationship between impulsivity and addiction-related behaviours, and also the potential susceptibility of those with poor impulse control for substance or behavioural addiction. Indeed, impulsivity was associated with both substanceand non-substance addictions in some studies (Maccallum, Blaszczynski, Ladouceur, & Nower, 2007;VerdejoGarcía, Lawrence, & Clark, 2008).…”