Value-based decision-making of cigarette and nondrug rewards in dependent and occasional cigarette smokers: An FMRI study.
Little is known about the neural functioning that underpins drug valuation and choice in addiction, including nicotine dependence. Following ad libitum smoking, 19 dependent smokers (smoked≥10/day) and 19 occasional smokers (smoked 0.5-5/week) completed a decision-making task. First, participants stated how much they were willing-to-pay for various amounts of cigarettes and shop vouchers. Second, during functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants decided if they wanted to buy these cigarettes and vouchers for a set amount of money. We examined decision-making behaviour and brain activity when faced with cigarette and voucher decisions, purchasing (vs not purchasing) cigarettes and vouchers, and "value signals" where brain activity correlated with cigarette and voucher value. Dependent smokers had a higher willingness-to-pay for cigarettes and greater activity in the bilateral middle temporal gyrus when faced with cigarette decisions than occasional smokers. Across both groups, the decision to buy cigarettes was associated with activity in the left paracingulate gyrus, right nucleus accumbens, and left amygdala. The decision to buy vouchers was associated with activity in the left superior frontal gyrus, but dependent smokers showed weaker activity in the left posterior cingulate gyrus than occasional smokers. Across both groups, cigarette value signals were observed in the left striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. To summarise, nicotine dependence was associated with greater behavioural valuation of cigarettes and brain activity during cigarette decisions. When purchasing cigarettes and vouchers, reward and decision-related brain regions were activated in both groups. For the first time, we identified value signals for cigarettes in the brain.
['Lawn|Will|W|0000-0002-0143-2724', 'Mithchener|Ludo|L|', 'Freeman|Tom P|TP|', 'Benattayallah|Abdelmalek|A|', 'Bisby|James A|JA|', 'Wall|Matt B|MB|', 'Dodds|Chris M|CM|', 'Curran|Helen V|HV|', 'Morgan|Celia J A|CJA|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D000679:Amygdala D001921:Brain D000073865:Cigarette Smoking D000066494:Cognitive Neuroscience D003657:Decision Making D060909:Economics, Behavioral D005260:Female D059907:Functional Neuroimaging D006179:Gyrus Cinguli D006801:Humans D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D017072:Neostriatum D009714:Nucleus Accumbens D017397:Prefrontal Cortex D012201:Reward D013702:Temporal Lobe D062789:Tobacco Products D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder D055815:Young Adult
decision-making cigarette reward addiction nicotine neuroeconomics