Neuroanatomy Reflects Individual Variability in Impulsivity in Youth.

Individual differences in neural circuits underlying emotional regulation, motivation, and decision-making are implicated in many psychiatric illnesses. Interindividual variability in these circuits may manifest, at least in part, as individual differences in impulsivity at both normative and clinically significant levels. Impulsivity reflects a tendency towards rapid, unplanned reactions to internal or external stimuli without considering potential negative consequences coupled with difficulty inhibiting responses.

Cannabis in the wild: Analysis of street cannabis and cannabinoid composition in Australia.

Background: Australia has one of the highest rates of cannabis use globally, yet the concentration of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) of illicit street cannabis has not been formally assessed in over a decade. We aimed to comprehensively profile the concentration of THC, cannabidiol (CBD) and other cannabinoids in contemporary illicit street cannabis in regional Australia, assess variation over time, and examine how the amount of THC relates to consumer's perceived product strength.

Methods: Participants donated two 1-gram samples of cannabis at 3 different timepoints (i.

The role of psychological distress in understanding the relationship between habitual decision-making and addictive behaviors.

Existing models are currently inadequate in explaining the relationship between habitual decision-making and different expressions of addictive behaviors. The current study investigates the role of psychological distress as a key factor in disrupting decision-making processes in the context of substance and behavioral addictions. A large community sample (N = 668) completed a gamified two-stage task to investigate the link between model-free (habitual) task behavior and a wide range of addictive behaviors.

Cognitive inflexibility moderates the relationship between relief-driven drinking motives and alcohol use.

Introduction: Drinking motives and neurocognition play significant roles in predicting alcohol use. There is limited research examining how relief-driven drinking motives interact with neurocognition in alcohol use, which would help to elucidate the neurocognitive-motivational profiles most susceptible to harmful drinking. This study investigated the interactions between neurocognition (response inhibition and cognitive flexibility) and relief-driven drinking, in predicting problem drinking.

A Novel, Expert-Endorsed, Neurocognitive Digital Assessment Tool for Addictive Disorders: Development and Validation Study.

Background: Many people with harmful addictive behaviors may not meet formal diagnostic thresholds for a disorder. A dimensional approach, by contrast, including clinical and community samples, is potentially key to early detection, prevention, and intervention. Importantly, while neurocognitive dysfunction underpins addictive behaviors, established assessment tools for neurocognitive assessment are lengthy and unengaging, difficult to administer at scale, and not suited to clinical or community needs.

Lifestyle risk factors for obsessive-compulsive symptoms and related phenomena: What should lifestyle interventions target?

Objective: Understanding the impact of lifestyle on mental illness symptoms is important for informing psycho-education and developing interventions which target mental and physical comorbidities. Obsessive-compulsive and related disorders can have a significant impact on health-related quality of life and physical health. However, our understanding of the impact of lifestyle on obsessive-compulsive symptoms and broader compulsive and impulsive problematic repetitive behaviours is limited.

The role of psychological distress in the relationship between lifestyle and compulsivity: An analysis of independent, bi-national samples.

Background: Poor mental health is a state of psychological distress that is influenced by lifestyle factors such as sleep, diet, and physical activity. Compulsivity is a transdiagnostic phenotype cutting across a range of mental illnesses including obsessive-compulsive disorder, substance-related and addictive disorders, and is also influenced by lifestyle. Yet, how lifestyle relates to compulsivity is presently unknown, but important to understand to gain insights into individual differences in mental health.

Neural underpinnings of food choice and consumption in obesity.

Background/objectives: Obesity is associated with unhealthy food choices. Food selection is driven by the subjective valuation of available options, and the perceived and actual rewards accompanying consumption. These cognitive operations are mediated by brain regions including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), and ventral striatum (vStr).

Endocannabinoid signaling of homeostatic status modulates functional connectivity in reward and salience networks.

Rationale: Endocannabinoids are well poised to regulate crosstalk between energy sensing of hunger and satiety and reward-driven motivation.

Objectives: Here, we aimed to unravel associations between plasma endocannabinoids and brain connectivity in homeostatic and reward circuits across hunger and satiety states.

Methods: Fifteen participants (7 females) underwent two counter-balanced resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans, one after overnight fasting and one after consumption of a standardized filling meal (satiety).

The Influence of Trait Compulsivity and Impulsivity on Addictive and Compulsive Behaviors During COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in high levels of psychological distress worldwide, with experts expressing concern that this could result in corresponding increases in addictive behaviors as individuals seek to cope with their distress. Further, some individuals may be at greater risk than others for developing problematic addictive behaviors during times of high stress, such as individuals with high trait impulsivity and compulsivity. Despite the potential of such knowledge to inform early detection of risk, no study to date has examined the influence of trait impulsivity and compulsivity on addictive behaviors during COVID-19.

Cannabis Use in Adolescence: A Review of Neuroimaging Findings.

Shifting policies and widespread acceptance of cannabis for medical and/or recreational purposes have fueled worries of increased cannabis initiation and use in adolescents. In particular, the adolescent period is thought to be associated with an increased susceptibility to the potential harms of repeated cannabis use, due to being a critical period for neuromaturational events in the brain. This review investigates the neuroimaging evidence of brain harms attributable to adolescent cannabis use.

The Endocannabinoid System and Cannabidiol's Promise for the Treatment of Substance Use Disorder.

Substance use disorder is characterized by repeated use of a substance, leading to clinically significant distress, making it a serious public health concern. The endocannabinoid system plays an important role in common neurobiological processes underlying substance use disorder, in particular by mediating the rewarding and motivational effects of substances and substance-related cues. In turn, a number of cannabinoid drugs (e.