ERP Source Localization Study Of Risky Decision-making And Attentional Bias In Abstinent Heroin Addicts

Drug addiction is a global medical and social problem,and heroin addiction is even more serious in our country.Long-term heroin abuse can seriously affect the normal function of the brain and makes heroin addicts have significant differences with healthy people in behavioral and cognitive aspects,such as decision-making and attention.The decision-making and attention have an important influence on the formation of addiction behavior,continuous medication,and relapse.This paper uses event related potential(ERP),time-frequency analysis and source localization technology,combined with the risky decision-making task and dot-probe task to study the abnormal risky decision-making and attentional bias in abstinent heroin addict(AHA)and healthy control(HC)in the behavioral and cognitive neural processing and explores its causes.Risky decision-making task uses a simple two-choice task,low risk('9')and high risk('99')to study the abnormalities of its behavior and cognitive processing with the risk decision-making in abstinent heroin addicts(AHAs).While the dot-probe paradigm uses addicted pictures and normal pictures as cue stimuli,and subsequent dot stimuli as target stimuli to study the abnormalities of AHAs for the initial attention of drug-related cues and subsequent cognitive processing.The main conclusions of this paper are as follows:1.In the risky decision-making task,the behavioral results showed that AHA tended to select higher-risk choices,indicating that AHAs prefered to pursue risky things without considering the negative consequences that might be hidden behind risk things.ERP results showed that the right hemisphere preponderance of SPN amplitude was disrupted in AHA.Difference wave of FRN amplitude was higher in AHA than HC,and P300 amplitude was associated with risk magnitude and valence(gain vs loss).Time-frequency analysis results showed that theta reflected a high sensitivity to low-level primary feedback properties(gain vs loss),while delta was very sensitive to the main attributes(gain)and evaluation of secondary stimuli(9 vs 99).In the reward expectation and outcome evaluation stages,source localization results found abnormalities in decision-making behavior and cognitive processing in AHA.All in all,the results of this study suggested that AHAs had abnormal risk propensity and the deficits of decision-making in the adjustment of risk selection strategies.Even if the previous selection had occurred considerable negative results,they still choosed the option with high risk rather than adjusted selection strategy to a safer way to avoid risk.The abnormal risk propensity in AHAs and the pursuit of instant gratification might be closely related to abnormal reward expectations and assessments,which might be the reasons for their high risk seeking and impulsive behavior formation.2.In the dot-probe experiment paradigm,the behavioral results found that AHA had shorter reaction times(RTs)in the congruent position of drug-related image and target stimuli,indicating that AHAs occurred attentional bias to drug-related cues.ERP results showed that when image cues were presented,reflected initial attention of P1 latency was early and the N1 amplitude related to attentional allocation,and the N2 amplitude of the modulated attentional processing were all increased in AHA.When the drug-related image was consistent with the position of target stimuli,P3 amplitude significantly decreased and its latency was shorter in AHA.The source localization of these ERP components found that the activity in the dorsal posterior cingulate cortex,superior parietal lobe,and frontal gyrus in AHA was obviously increased and decreased in the occipital and medial parietal lobe.In short,the initial attentional bias to drug-related cues in AHAs had affected subsequent cognitive processes such as decision making and impulsive control.