Relationship between drug use and prefrontal-associated traits

Abstract

The prefrontal cortex plays an important role in the strategic and emotional regulation of behavior. Both cognitive and neuroimaging studies have implicated prefrontal cortex in processes of reward and addiction. Prefrontal-associated neurobehavioral traits may be measured psychometrically with the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe), so it was hypothesized that self-ratings on this instrument would correlate with parameters of psychoactive drug use in a community sample. Modest but significant correlations were found for various parameters of tobacco use, even after controlling for demographic variables. Significant differences were noted in the mean scores when non-users were compared with users of cannabis, major stimulants (e.g. cocaine, amphetamine), and dissociative hallucinogens (e.g. phencyclidine, ketamine) and polysubstance use, particularly with the Disinhibition subscale. Smokers rated greater dysfunction than non-smokers on all three subscales, with ex-smokers showing intermediate ratings between the two. Polysubstance users showed greater dysfunction on the Disinhibition subscale compared to non-polysubstance users. In summary, this study further supports a relationship between prefrontal dysfunction and drug use in normal individuals, convergently with other methodologies for studying addiction.

Acute Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabinol-Induced Deficits in Reversal Learning: Neural Correlates of Affective Inflexibility

“…Deficits in reversal learning may reflect either a failure in learning new associations between stimuli or deficits in the ability to inhibit previously learned stimulus-reward contingencies. Although we were unable to distinguish these possibilities in the present task, disinhibition has also been reported following marijuana intake in humans (Liraud and Verdoux, 2000;Spinella, 2003).…”

Negative mood regulation expectancies, frontal lobe related behaviors and alcohol use

“…Diagnostic validity has been confirmed for detecting graduated degrees of symptoms of frontal lobe functioning in various clinical samples (Chiaravalloti & DeLuca, 2003;Velligan, 2002), in substance use and abuse populations (Spinella, 2003) and in healthy individuals (Spinella, 2007).…”

“…The standard version of the Self Rating Form of the FrSBe aims to measure behavioral change by obtaining pre-and post-lesion ratings. For the purposes of this study and in keeping with previous research (Lyvers et al, in press;Spinella, 2003;Verdejo-García, Rivas-Péreza, López-Torrecillasa, & Pérez-García, 2006) (Stout, Ready, Grace, Malloy, & Paulsen, 2003) with the three factor solution accounting for 40.7% of the common variance. Evidence also supports reliability (Velligan, 2002) with internal consistency ranging from .88 to .91 and three month test-retest reliability of .78.…”

Protracted ‘Pro-Addictive’ Phenotype Produced in Mice by Pre-Adolescent Phenylpropanolamine

“…In addition to positive and negative rewarding properties, psychomotor-stimulant drugs have behavioral disinhibitory properties (Olausson et al, 2000;Spinella, 2003;Szumlinski et al, 2000a). Thus, it may be postulated that juvenile PPA exposure increased the time spent on originally nonpreferred, cocaine-paired, side by facilitating behavioral disinhibition.…”