Effects of family history of substance use disorder on reward processing in adolescents with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often develop early onset substance use disorder (SUD) and show poor treatment outcomes. Both disorders show similar reward-processing alterations, but it is unclear whether these are associated with familial vulnerability to SUD. Our aim was to investigate effects of family history of SUD (FH) on reward processing in individuals with and without ADHD, without substance misuse. Behavioural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from a modified monetary incentive delay task were compared between participants with and without FH (FH positive [FH+]: n = 76 and FH negative [FH-]: n = 69; 76 with ADHD, aged 16.74 +/- 3.14, 82 males), while accounting for continuous ADHD scores. The main analysis showed distinct positive association between ADHD scores and reaction times during neutral versus reward condition. ADHD scores were also positively associated with anticipatory responses of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, independent of FH. There were no main FH effects on brain activation. Yet, FH+ participants showed distinct neural alterations in ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), dependent on ADHD. This was driven by positive association between ADHD scores and VLPFC activation during reward outcome, only in FH+. Sensitivity analysis with stricter SUD index showed hyperactivation of anterior cingulate cortex for FH+, independent of ADHD, during reward anticipation. There were no FH or ADHD effects on activation of ventral striatum in any analysis. Findings suggest both FH and ADHD effects in circuits of reward and attention/memory during reward processing. Future studies should examine whether these relate to early substance use initiation in ADHD and explore the need for adjusted SUD prevention strategies.