PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Elizabeth C. Long
AU  - Radka Kaneva
AU  - Georgi Vasilev
AU  - F. Gerard Moeller
AU  - Jasmin Vassileva
TI  - Neurocognitive and psychiatric markers for addiction: Common vs. specific (endo)phenotypes for opiate and stimulant dependence
AID  - 10.1101/480970
DP  - 2018 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 480970
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/11/29/480970.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/11/29/480970.full
AB  - BACKGROUND The differential utility of neurocognitive impulsivity and externalizing/internalizing traits as putative addiction endophenotypes among individuals dependent on opiates vs. stimulants is unclear. The present study aims to determine: (1) whether neurocognitive impulsivity dimensions and externalizing/internalizing traits are correlated between siblings discordant for opiate and stimulant dependence; and (2) which of these associations are common across substances and which are substance-specific.METHOD Pearson correlations between individuals with ‘pure’ heroin and ‘pure’ amphetamine dependence and their unaffected biological siblings (n = 37 heroin sibling pairs; n = 30 amphetamine sibling pairs) were run on 10 neurocognitive measures, 6 externalizing measures, and 5 internalizing measures. Sibling pair effects were further examined using regression.RESULTS Siblings discordant for heroin dependence were significantly correlated on delay aversion on the Cambridge Gambling Task, risk-taking on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task, sensation seeking, and hopelessness. Siblings discordant for amphetamine dependence were significantly correlated on quality of decision-making on the Cambridge Gambling Task, discriminability on the Immediate Memory Task, commission errors on the Go/No-Go Task, trait impulsivity, ADHD, and anxiety sensitivity.CONCLUSIONS Dimensions of impulsivity and externalizing/internalizing traits appear to aggregate among siblings discordant for substance dependence. Risk-taking propensity, sensation seeking, and hopelessness were specific for heroin sibling pairs. Motor/action impulsivity and trait impulsivity were specific to amphetamine sibling pairs. Decisional/choice impulsivity was common across both heroin and amphetamine sibling pairs. These findings provide preliminary evidence for the utility of neurocognitive impulsivity and externalizing/internalizing traits as candidate endophenotypes for substance dependence in general and for substance-specific dependencies.