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Striatal cue-reactivity and neurotransmitter function in gambling disorder




TekijätBellmunt-Gil, Albert; Majuri, Joonas; Nummenmaa, Lauri; Helin, Semi; Forsback, Sarita; Rajander, Johan; Kaasinen, Valtteri; Joutsa, Juho

KustantajaAKADEMIAI KIADO ZRT

KustannuspaikkaBUDAPEST

Julkaisuvuosi2025

JournalJournal of behavioral addictions

Tietokannassa oleva lehden nimiJOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL ADDICTIONS

Lehden akronyymiJ BEHAV ADDICT

Vuosikerta14

Numero2

Aloitussivu997

Lopetussivu1009

Sivujen määrä13

ISSN2062-5871

eISSN2063-5303

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2025.00041

Verkko-osoitehttps://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2025.00041

Rinnakkaistallenteen osoitehttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/499168382


Tiivistelmä

Background:
Abnormal striatal cue reactivity is one of the neurobiological hallmarks of substance use disorders (SUDs). Cue reactivity is associated with relapse, prompting efforts to target its underlying mechanisms with therapeutic interventions. However, the neural correlates of cue reactivity in behavioral addictions, such as gambling disorder (GD), remain poorly understood. Here we investigated striatal cue reactivity and its associations with neurotransmitters in individuals with GD using multimodal neuroimaging.

Methods:
Thirteen subjects with GD and 16 healthy controls (HC) underwent fMRI using a block-design consisting of three different types of visual stimuli: gambling-related, erotic, and neutral videos. The subjects also underwent brain PET imaging with three radiotracers to assess dopamine ([18F]FDOPA), opioid ([11C]carfentanil) and serotonin ([11C]MADAM) function.

Results:
GD subjects showed a significantly greater BOLD response in the dorsal striatum compared to HC when viewing gambling-related versus neutral videos (pFWE< 0.001).

Conclusions:
GD is characterized by increased gambling cue-induced activity in the dorsal striatum, which is linked to mu-opioid receptor availability. The findings highlight the potential role of the mu-opioid system in mediating cue-reactivity in behavioral addictions.


Ladattava julkaisu

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Julkaisussa olevat rahoitustiedot
The study was funded by the Academy of Finland [grant #256836], the Turku University Foundation, the Finnish Foundation for Alcohol Studies and Turku University Hospital (VTR funds).


Last updated on 2025-08-08 at 15:24