# Neurobehavioral signatures of sign- and goal-tracking in emerging adults: Translation of a preclinical model

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2024 · $686,809

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
This proposal leverages recent advancements in translational neuroscience and represents a critical step in
the effort to further our understanding of individual differences in addiction liability, one of the most challenging
and important questions in substance use research. This question is particularly relevant during emerging
adulthood because that is when risk factors and rates of substance use and substance use disorder are high
relative to other age groups. One of the most well-validated models of addiction based on animal models,
incentive-sensitization theory, holds great promise for elucidating individual differences in human addiction
liability. Incentive-sensitization theory describes the process of reward-associated cues acquiring incentive
salience, a mechanism that has been well-studied in animals with sign-/goal-tracking paradigms. These
processes have not yet been well-characterized in humans at the neurobehavioral level, however. To address
this need, the overall objectives in this mechanistic investigation are to further validate a human sign-/goal-
tracking paradigm and identify neurobehavioral signatures of sign- and goal-tracking. Preclinical studies have
identified differences between sign-tracking and goal-tracking animals in three key domains that are already
well-established correlates of human substance use—reward responsivity, attentional control, and impulse
control. The central hypothesis is that a stronger sign-tracking bias will be associated with a bottom-up
processing style characterized by less adaptive attentional- and impulse-control as well as hyperactive reward
processing, whereas a stronger goal-tracking bias will be associated with a top-down processing style
characterized by strong attentional- and impulse-control as well as normative reward processing. 294 18–20-
year-olds, in whom substance use is free to vary, will be recruited. At baseline, participants will be assessed for
sign-/goal-tracking bias with an interactive Pavlovian conditioned approach task and undergo psychometric
assessment and functional magnetic resonance imaging. The psychometric assessment will include measures
of approach and avoidance, attention, and impulsivity. The neuroimaging protocol will comprise tasks probing
sign-/goal-tracking, substance cue reactivity, sustained attention, and inhibitory control. Participants will also be
assessed for substance use, problems, and diagnoses at baseline and every three months through the end of
the study. This will allow for the delineation of associations between sign-/goal-tracking bias and: (1) trait
constructs, (2) brain function, and (3) substance-related clinical outcomes. This innovative, mechanistic work
will provide further validation of a translated human sign-/goal-tracking paradigm through delineation of trait,
neural, and substance use correlates of sign- and goal-tracking. The long-term goal of this line of work is to
identify early those who are at t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10796270
- **Project number:** 1R01DA058010-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Lora M. Cope
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $686,809
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-30 → 2029-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10796270

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10796270, Neurobehavioral signatures of sign- and goal-tracking in emerging adults: Translation of a preclinical model (1R01DA058010-01A1). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/10796270. Licensed CC0.

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