Biology subjects

Sescousse, G.

Publications and source records attributed to Sescousse, G..

8 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2020

Common and distinct neural correlates of music and food-induced pleasure: a coordinate-based meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies.

Neuroimaging studies have shown that, despite the abstractness of music, it may mimic biologically rewarding stimuli (e.g. food) in its ability to engage the brains reward circuity. However, due to the lack of research comparing music and other types of reward, it is unclear to what extent the recruitment of reward-related structures overlaps among domains. To achieve this goal, we performed a coordinate-based meta-analysis of 38 neuroimaging studies (703 subjects) comparing the brain responses specifically to music and food-induced pleasure. Both engaged a common set of brain regions including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, ventral striatum, and insula. Yet, comparative analyses indicated a partial dissociation in the engagement of the reward circuitry as a function of the type of reward, as well as additional reward type-specific activations in brain regions related to perception, sensory processing, and learning. These results support the idea that hedonic reactions rely on the engagement of a common reward network, yet through specific routes of access depending on the modality and nature of the reward.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Predicting future drinking among young adults:using ensemble machine-learning to combine MRI with psychometrics and behaviour

BackgroundWhile most research into predictors of problematic alcohol use has focused on adolescence, young adults are also at elevated risk, and differ from adolescents and adults in terms of exposure to alcohol and neurodevelopment. Here we examined predictors of alcohol use among young adults at a 1-year follow-up using a broad predictive modelling approach. MethodsData in four modalities were included from 128 men aged between 18 and 25 years; functional MRI regions-of-interest from 1) a beer-incentive delay task, and 2) a social alcohol cue-exposure task, 3) grey matter data, and 4) non-neuroimaging data (i.e. psychometric and behavioural). These modalities were combined into an ensemble model to predict follow-up Alcohol Use Disorder Identification (AUDIT) scores, and were tested separately for their contribution. To reveal specificity for the prediction of future AUDIT scores, the same analyses were carried out for current AUDIT score. ResultsThe ensemble resulted in a more accurate estimation of follow-up AUDIT score than any single modality. Only removal of the social alcohol cue-exposure task and of the non-neuroimaging data significantly worsened predictions. Reporting to need a drink in the morning to start the day was the strongest unique predictor of future drinking along with anterior cingulate cortex and cerebellar activity. ConclusionsAlcohol-related task fMRI activity is a valuable predictor for future drinking among young adults alongside non-neuroimaging variables. Multi-modal prediction models best predict future drinking among young adults and may play an important part in the move towards individualized treatment and prevention efforts.

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bioRxiv2019

Cue-reactivity and approach bias to social alcohol cues and their association with drinking in a social setting in young adults

Alcohol is mainly consumed in social settings, in which people often adapt their drinking behavior to that of others, also called imitation of drinking. Yet, it remains unclear what drives this drinking in a social setting. In this study, we expected to see stronger brain and behavioral responses to social compared to non-social alcohol cues, that would be associated with actual drinking in a social setting. The sample consisted of 153 beer-drinking males, aged 18-25 years. Brain responses to social alcohol cues were measured during an alcohol cue exposure task in the scanner. Behavioral responses to social alcohol cues were measured using a stimulus-response compatibility task, providing an index of approach bias towards these cues. Drinking in a social setting was measured in a Bar-Lab setting. Specific brain responses to social alcohol cues were observed in the bilateral superior temporal sulcus and the left inferior parietal lobe. There was no approach bias towards social alcohol cues specifically, however, we did find an approach bias towards alcohol (versus soda) cues in general. Brain responses and approach bias towards social alcohol cues were unrelated and not associated with drinking, measured in the Bar-Lab. Thus, we found no support for a relation between drinking in a social setting on the one hand, and brain cue-reactivity or behavioral approach biases to social alcohol cues on the other hand. This suggests that, in contrast to our hypothesis, drinking in a social setting may not be driven by brain or behavioral responses to social alcohol cues.

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bioRxiv2018

Brain responses to anticipating and receiving beer: Comparing light, at-risk, and dependent alcohol users

BackgroundImpaired brain processing of alcohol-related rewards has been suggested to play a central role in alcohol use disorder. Yet, evidence remains inconsistent, and mainly originates from studies in which participants passively observe alcohol cues or taste alcohol. Here we designed a protocol in which beer consumption was predicted by incentive cues and contingent on instrumental action, closer to real life situations. We predicted that anticipating and receiving beer (compared with water) would elicit activity in the brain reward network, and that this activity would correlate with drinking level across participants.\n\nMethodsThe sample consisted of 150 beer-drinking males, aged 18-25 years. Three groups were defined based on AUDIT scores: light drinkers (n=40), at-risk drinkers (n=63), and dependent drinkers (n=47). fMRI measures were obtained while participants engaged in the Beer Incentive Delay task involving beer- and water-predicting cues, followed by real sips of beer or water.\n\nResultsDuring anticipation, outcome notification and delivery of beer compared with water, higher activity was found in a reward-related brain network including the medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala. Yet, no activity was observed in the striatum, and no differences were found between the groups.\n\nConclusionsOur results reveal that anticipating, obtaining and tasting beer activates parts of the brain reward network, but that these brain responses do not differentiate between different drinking levels. We speculate that other factors, such as cognitive control or sensitivity to social context, may be more discriminant predictors of drinking behaviour in young adults.

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bioRxiv2018

Altered orbitofrontal sulcogyral patterns in gambling disorder: a multicenter study

Gambling disorder is a serious psychiatric condition characterized by decision-making and reward processing impairments that are associated with dysfunctional brain activity in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). However, it remains unclear whether OFC functional abnormalities in gambling disorder are accompanied by structural abnormalities. We addressed this question by examining the organization of sulci and gyri in the OFC. This organization is in place very early and stable across life, such that OFC sulcogyral patterns (classified into Type I, II and III) can be regarded as potential pre-morbid markers of pathological conditions. We gathered structural brain data from nine existing studies, reaching a total of 165 individuals with gambling disorder and 159 healthy controls. Our results, supported by both frequentist and Bayesian statistics, show that the distribution of OFC sulcogyral patterns is skewed in individuals with gambling disorder, with an increased prevalence of Type II pattern compared with healthy controls. Examination of gambling severity did not reveal any significant relationship between OFC sulcogyral patterns and disease severity. Altogether, our results provide evidence for a skewed distribution of OFC sulcogyral patterns in gambling disorder, and suggest that pattern Type II might represent a pre-morbid structural brain marker of the disease. It will be important to investigate more closely the functional implications of these structural abnormalities in future work.

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bioRxiv2017

Spontaneous eye blink rate and dopamine synthesis capacity: Preliminary evidence for an absence of positive correlation

Dopamine is central to a number of cognitive functions and brain disorders. Given the cost of neurochemical imaging in humans, behavioral proxy measures of dopamine have gained in popularity in the past decade, such as spontaneous eye blink rate (sEBR). Increased sEBR is commonly associated with increased dopamine function based on pharmacological evidence and patient studies. Yet, this hypothesis has not been validated using in vivo measures of dopamine function in humans. In order to fill this gap, we measured sEBR and striatal dopamine synthesis capacity using [18F]DOPA PET in 20 participants (9 healthy individuals and 11 pathological gamblers). Our results, based on frequentist and Bayesian statistics, as well as region-of-interest and voxel-wise analyses, argue against a positive relationship between sEBR and striatal dopamine synthesis capacity. They show that, if anything, the evidence is in favor of a negative relationship. These results, which complement findings from a recent study that failed to observe a relationship between sEBR and dopamine D2 receptor availability, suggest that caution and nuance are warranted when interpreting sEBR in terms of a proxy measure of striatal dopamine.

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bioRxiv2017

Dopaminergic drug effects on probability weighting during risky decision-making

Dopamine has been associated with risky decision-making, as well as with pathological gambling, a behavioural addiction characterized by excessive risk-taking behaviour. However, the specific mechanisms through which dopamine might act to foster risk-taking and pathological gambling remain elusive. Here we test the hypothesis that this might be achieved, in part, via modulation of subjective probability weighing during decision-making. Healthy controls (n = 21) and pathological gamblers (n = 16) played a decision-making task involving choices between sure monetary options and risky gambles both in the gain and loss domains. Each participant played the task twice, either under placebo or the dopamine D2/D3 receptor antagonist sulpiride, in a double-blind, counter-balanced, design. A prospect theory modelling approach was used to estimate subjective probability weighting and sensitivity to monetary outcomes. Consistent with prospect theory, we found that participants presented a distortion in the subjective weighting of probabilities, i.e. they overweighted low probabilities and underweighted moderate to high probabilities, both in the gain and loss domains. Compared with placebo, sulpiride attenuated this distortion in the gain domain. Across drugs, the groups did not differ in their probability weighting, although in the placebo condition, gamblers consistently underweighted losing probabilities. Overall, our results reveal that dopamine D2/D3 receptor antagonism modulates the subjective weighting of probabilities in the gain domain, in the direction of more objective, economically rational decision-making.\n\nSignificance statementDopamine has been implicated in risky decision-making and gambling addiction, but the exact mechanisms underlying this influence remain partly elusive. Here we tested the hypothesis that dopamine modulates subjective probability weighting, by examining the effect of a dopaminergic drug on risk-taking behaviour, both in healthy individuals and pathological gamblers. We found that selectively blocking dopamine D2/D3 receptors diminished the typically observed distortion of winning probabilities, characterized by an overweighting of low probabilities and underweighting of high probabilities. This made participants more linear in their subjective estimation of probabilities, and thus more rational in their decision-making behaviour. Healthy participants and pathological gamblers did not differ in their risk-taking behaviour, except in the placebo condition in which gamblers consistently underweighted losing probabilities.

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bioRxiv2017

The contribution of striatal pseudo-reward prediction errors to value-based decision-making

Most studies that have investigated the brain mechanisms underlying learning have focused on the ability to learn simple stimulus-response associations. However, in everyday life, outcomes are often obtained through complex behavioral patterns involving a series of actions. In such scenarios, parallel learning systems are important to reduce the complexity of the learning problem, as proposed in the framework of hierarchical reinforcement learning (HRL). One of the key features of HRL is the computation of pseudo-reward prediction errors (PRPEs) which allow the reinforcement of actions that led to a sub-goal before the final goal itself is achieved. Here we wanted to test the hypothesis that, despite not carrying any rewarding value per se, pseudo-rewards might generate a bias in choice behavior when reward contingencies are not well-known or uncertain. Second, we also hypothesized that this bias might be related to the strength of PRPE striatal representations. In order to test these ideas, we developed a novel decision-making paradigm to assess reward prediction errors (RPEs) and PRPEs in two studies (fMRI study: n = 20; behavioural study: n = 19). Our results show that overall participants developed a preference for the most pseudo-rewarding option throughout the task, even though it did not lead to more monetary rewards. fMRI analyses revealed that this preference was predicted by individual differences in the relative striatal sensitivity to PRPEs vs RPEs. Together, our results indicate that pseudo-rewards generate learning signals in the striatum and subsequently bias choice behavior despite their lack of association with actual reward.

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