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Methamphetamine related cues impact impulsive choice by decreasing loss aversion

Yu Han1, Rui-Si Xu1, Xiang-Yi Zhou2

  • 1Affiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.

BMC Psychiatry
|May 26, 2025
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Methamphetamine (METH) cues may influence impulsive choice in individuals with METH use disorder by reducing loss aversion, but do not affect impulsive action.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychology
  • Addiction Research

Background:

  • Individuals with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) exhibit altered decision-making processes.
  • Understanding the impact of drug-related cues on impulsivity is crucial for addiction treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate changes in impulsive choice and action in individuals with MUD after exposure to methamphetamine (METH) cues.
  • To compare these changes against a healthy control group.

Main Methods:

  • Participants with MUD and healthy controls underwent behavioral tasks (go/no-go, Balloon Analog Risk Task) before and after a virtual reality (VR) METH cue exposure.
  • Assessed impulsive choice and action using task performance and computational modeling (exponential-weight mean-variance parameters).

Main Results:

  • No significant differences in impulsive action (go/no-go task) were observed between groups.
  • Individuals with MUD showed increased risk-taking (adjusted pumps on BART) and decreased loss aversion (λ) after cue exposure.
  • Loss aversion (λ) was negatively correlated with risk-taking behavior in both baseline and cue-induced conditions.

Conclusions:

  • METH-related cues appear to influence impulsive choice, specifically by reducing loss aversion in individuals with MUD.
  • Impulsive action, as measured by the go/no-go task, was not significantly affected by METH cue exposure.
  • Findings suggest targeted interventions to address loss aversion may be beneficial for MUD treatment.
Keywords:
ImpulsivityLoss aversionMethamphetamineVirtual reality

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