Increases in striatal response to reward anticipation relate to reductions in impulsivity in women with substance use disorders.
4 affiliations
- 1Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, United States of America; The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, United States of America. Electronic address: [email protected].
- 2Philadelphia Research Education Foundation, Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA, United States of America.
- 3Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, United States of America.
- 4Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Tulsa, OK, United States of America; The University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK, United States of America.
Abstract
Impulsivity and neural reward reactivity are considered important factors in the development and maintenance of substance use disorders (SUDs) and may be predictive of treatment response. However, relationships between treatment response, impulsivity, and reward reactivity are understudied in women with SUDs. Our study aimed to characterize relationships between neural responses to reward anticipation and changes in behavioral and clinical outcomes following treatment. In a sample of adult women (N = 83) who completed a criminal diversion program that included comprehensive treatment for SUDs, nucleus accumbens (NAc) reactivity to reward and loss anticipation during a monetary incentive delay (MID) task was examined early in treatment (baseline) and one year later (follow-up). At baseline, more severe substance use symptoms were associated with elevated NAc reward anticipation while greater PTSD symptoms were associated with lower NAc loss anticipation. Symptoms of PTSD, substance use, and urgency significantly decreased by one-year follow-up (ηp²≥0.22). Increases in NAc reward anticipation over time were associated with lower urgency at follow-up, regardless of PTSD symptom levels (ηp²≥0.03). Whole-brain analyses also showed that increased striatal reward anticipation over time was associated with lower positive urgency at follow-up. PTSD symptom severity moderated the relationship between changes in NAc loss anticipation and negative urgency. Findings suggest that NAc reactivity to anticipation of non-drug outcomes may offer a potential neural target for enhancing SUDs treatment outcomes for women, while loss-related reactivity may be particularly relevant in the presence of co-occurring PTSD.
Related
- The moderating role of impulsivity in the association between sexual abuse and substance use frequency across countries, gender identities, and sexual orientations
- Impulsivity and Anger Regulation in Adults with Overweight or Obesity and Feeding and Eating Disorders: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study
- Editorial: Emerging treatment approaches for substance use disorders, vol II
- Community-based interventions to improve hepatitis C linkage to care among people with substance use disorders in Southwest Virginia: a pragmatic sequential cohort study
- Electrophysiological reactivity to emotional images and targets predicts the development of substance use disorders in adolescent girls
BibTeX
@article{lavalley2026increases,
title = {{Increases in striatal response to reward anticipation relate to reductions in impulsivity in women with substance use disorders.}},
author = {Claire A Lavalley and Sonalee Joshi and Rayus Kuplicki and Jennifer L Stewart and Emily M Choquette and Jonathan Savitz and Martin P Paulus and Robin L Aupperle},
journal = {NeuroImage. Clinical},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1016/j.nicl.2026.104074},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42832934},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Increases in striatal response to reward anticipation relate to reductions in impulsivity in women with substance use disorders.
AU - Claire A Lavalley
AU - Sonalee Joshi
AU - Rayus Kuplicki
AU - Jennifer L Stewart
AU - Emily M Choquette
AU - Jonathan Savitz
AU - Martin P Paulus
AU - Robin L Aupperle
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/30
JO - NeuroImage. Clinical
DO - 10.1016/j.nicl.2026.104074
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42832934
AB - Impulsivity and neural reward reactivity are considered important factors in the development and maintenance of substance use disorders (SUDs) and may be predictive of treatment response. However, relationships between treatment response, impulsivity, and reward reactivity are understudied in women with SUDs. Our study aimed to characterize relationships between neural responses to reward anticipation and changes in behavioral and clinical outcomes following treatment. In a sample of adult women (N = 83) who completed a criminal diversion program that included comprehensive treatment for SUDs, nucleus accumbens (NAc) reactivity to reward and loss anticipation during a monetary incentive delay (MID) task was examined early in treatment (baseline) and one year later (follow-up). At baseline, more severe substance use symptoms were associated with elevated NAc reward anticipation while greater PTSD symptoms were associated with lower NAc loss anticipation. Symptoms of PTSD, substance use, and urgency significantly decreased by one-year follow-up (ηp²≥0.22). Increases in NAc reward anticipation over time were associated with lower urgency at follow-up, regardless of PTSD symptom levels (ηp²≥0.03). Whole-brain analyses also showed that increased striatal reward anticipation over time was associated with lower positive urgency at follow-up. PTSD symptom severity moderated the relationship between changes in NAc loss anticipation and negative urgency. Findings suggest that NAc reactivity to anticipation of non-drug outcomes may offer a potential neural target for enhancing SUDs treatment outcomes for women, while loss-related reactivity may be particularly relevant in the presence of co-occurring PTSD.
SN - 2213-1582
ER -