New York, April 22: Researchers have found that activity in decision-making brain regions of people who use recreational stimulants can predict who will discontinue their use and who will develop a drug use disorder.
The findings of the study, led by Martin Paulus of Laureate Institute of Brain Research in Oklahoma, suggested that an inability to learn from previous risky decisions in some people may predispose them to continue drug use despite the negative consequences.
"Our sample of recreational users offers a unique approach to studying addiction," said first author Melanie Blair, a doctoral student in the laboratory of Jennifer Stewart of City University of New York.
"By finding differences between our groups prior to problematic use, our results suggest that certain brain patterns might be existing vulnerabilities that predispose an individual to addiction," Blair added.
For the study, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, researchers used brain imaging to measure the activity of several brain regions involved in decision making in 144 young adults.
The study measured brain activity in young adults using recreational stimulants, including cocaine and the prescription amphetamines Adderall and Ritalin, and followed up three years later to determine the participants' outcome.
During the brain scans, the participants performed a task requiring them to make risky or safe decisions. Although all participants in the study were experimenting with stimulants at the time, some showed a tendency for making riskier choices.
"Compared to individuals who stopped using, those who later developed problem use were more reactive to rewards and showed weaker activity in regions of the brain that are critical for decision making," Blair said.
These participants had lower activity in a brain circuit that provides feedback on risky decisions, suggesting they might not be as good at adapting their behaviour-based on previous experiences, the researcher added.
Weaker brain activity in regions associated with decision making also predicted greater marijuana use in the future, they noted.
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'Godman' Kharat held in 8th sexual exploitation case; court denies police remand, sends him to jail
Nashik (PTI): Police took custody of self-proclaimed godman-cum-astrologer Ashok Kharat in an eighth case related to sexual exploitation of women and produced him before a Nashik district court which sent him to jail till May 12 after rejecting the plea for his police remand on Thursday.
On April 29, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Nashik police in north Maharashtra filed a request application in the court demanding Kharat's custody in the eighth case.
After the court granted them the necessary permission, the SIT took custody of Kharat, who was in jail in connection with the seventh case of sexual exploitation registered against him.
The 'godman', named in a dozen FIRs related to rape and financial fraud, was produced before Chief Judicial Magistrate B N Ichpurani in the eighth case through video conferencing due to security reasons.
The eighth case related to Kharat allegedly sexually exploiting a woman who had approached him in search of solutions to her family problems, according to police.
During the hearing, the prosecution demanded police custody of the accused in the latest case.
However, the defence strongly opposed the demand and argued that the SIT was giving same reasons for police custody every time and there was no strong reason for accepting their plea.
The court accepted the argument put forth by the defence and remanded Kharat to judicial custody till May 12 in the eighth case.
The SIT will produce Kharat in the court on Friday again and seek his police custody in the ninth case. As the self-styled godman has been granted judicial custody in the eighth case, he will be sent to Nashik Road Central Jail and the SIT will take his custody from there.
Meanwhile, Kharat's judicial custody in the fourth case ended on Thursday. On April 18, the accused was remanded to judicial custody till April 30 in the fourth case of sexual exploitation of women.
In a related development, the SIT conducted a search at Kharat's office in the 'Canada Corner' area of Nashik city on Wednesday. A 'panchnama' (record of search and seizure proceedings) was conducted and the office was locked and sealed again.
Kharat, a well-heeled man with political connections, was arrested for the first time on March 18 after a woman alleged he had repeatedly raped her for three years.
He is accused of sexually exploiting several women by claiming to have divine powers and knowledge of black magic, and also committing large-scale financial fraud.
The SIT is conducting a probe into 12 cases of sexual exploitation and financial fraud registered against the astrologer in Nashik and Ahilyanagar districts.
