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Cannabis-dependent adolescents show differences in global reward-associated network topology: A functional connectomics approach.

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

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Type

Article

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Authors

Behan, Brendan 
Suckling, John 
Garavan, Hugh 

Abstract

Adolescence may be a period of increased vulnerability to the onset of drug misuse and addiction due to changes in developing brain networks that support cognitive and reward processing. Cannabis is a widely misused illicit drug in adolescence which can lead to dependence and alterations in reward-related neural functioning. Concerns exist that cannabis-related alterations in these reward networks in adolescence may sensitize behaviour towards all forms of reward that increase the risk of further drug use. Taking a functional connectomics approach, we compared an acutely abstinent adolescent cannabis-dependent (CAN) group with adolescent controls (CON) on global measures of network topology associated with anticipation on a monetary incentive delay task. In the presence of overall superior accuracy, the CAN group exhibited superior global connectivity (clustering coefficient, efficiency, characteristic path length) during monetary gain anticipation compared with the CON group. Additional analyses showed that the CAN group exhibited significantly greater connectivity strength during monetary gain anticipation across a subnetwork that included mesocorticolimbic nodes involving both interhemispheric and intrahemispheric connections. We discuss how these differences in reward-associated connectivity may allude to subtle functional alterations in network architecture in adolescent cannabis-dependence that could enhance the motivation for nondrug reward during acute abstinence.

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Keywords

Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Brain, Connectome, Cues, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Marijuana Abuse, Reward

Journal Title

Addict Biol

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1355-6215
1369-1600

Volume Title

25

Publisher

Wiley