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Blaine S, Fogelman N, Lacadie C, Constable T, Sinha R. Blunted neural reward response to alcohol and greater alcohol motivation in binge drinkers in a randomized clinical experiment. ALCOHOL, CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 47:1067-1078. [PMID: 37070596 PMCID: PMC10289130 DOI: 10.1111/acer.15082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2022] [Revised: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 04/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alcohol stimulates cerebral blood flow (CBF) in brain reward regions. However, neural processes that support sustained alcohol motivation after the first drink are not well understood. METHODS Using a novel placebo-controlled, randomized, crossover experiment, 27 individuals who binge drink (BD; 15 M, 12 F) and 25 social drinkers (SD; 15 M, 10 F) underwent a behavioral test of self-motivated alcohol consumption using an Alcohol Taste Test (ATT) involving alcoholic and nonalcoholic beer on separate days. The test was followed immediately by perfusion functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). On both days, participants then engaged in a post-scan ATT with placebo beer to assess sustained alcohol self-motivation without active alcohol effects. Linear mixed effects models were used to examine the effects of drinking group on the placebo-controlled effect of initial alcohol motivation on brain perfusion (whole brain corrected p < 0.001, cluster corrected p < 0.025) and on the relationship between placebo-controlled brain perfusion and sustained alcohol motivation. RESULTS Initial alcohol self-motivation in the alcohol relative to placebo session led to markedly decreased activation in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the ventral striatum in BD relative to SD, indicative of neural reward tolerance. The BD group also showed an enhanced neural response in behavioral intention regions of the supplementary motor area (SMA) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) regions. Moreover, there was greater sustained alcohol motivation in BD than SD in the post-scan ATT in the alcohol relative to placebo session. Correspondingly, only in BD and only in the alcohol session, lower alcohol-induced OFC response correlated with concurrent sensitized SMA response, and each predicted the subsequent sustained higher alcohol motivation in the post-scan ATT. CONCLUSIONS Alcohol-related OFC tolerance may play an important role in sustained alcohol motivation. Furthermore, both specific alcohol-related neural reward tolerance and premotor sensitization responses may contribute to escalating alcohol motivation to drive excessive alcohol intake, even in individuals without alcohol use disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Blaine
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Auburn University; Auburn, AL
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine; New Haven, CT
| | - Nia Fogelman
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine; New Haven, CT
| | - Cheryl Lacadie
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine; New Haven, CT
| | - Todd Constable
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine; New Haven, CT
| | - Rajita Sinha
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine; New Haven, CT
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2
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Lippard ETC, Kirsch DE, Kosted R, Le V, Almeida JRC, Fromme K, Strakowski SM. Subjective response to alcohol in young adults with bipolar disorder and recent alcohol use: a within-subject randomized placebo-controlled alcohol administration study. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2023; 240:739-753. [PMID: 36695842 PMCID: PMC10084816 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-023-06315-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Limited data exists on mechanisms contributing to elevated risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD) in bipolar disorder. Variation in subjective response to alcohol may relate to alcohol use and risk for AUD. This study used a randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over, within-subjects design to investigate differences in subjective response to alcohol in 50 euthymic young adults (n = 24 with and n = 26 without bipolar disorder type I). Eighty-three percent of participants with bipolar disorder were medicated. Participants completed assessments of clinical history, alcohol expectancies, and recent alcohol use. Participants were dosed to a .08 g% breath alcohol concentration. The placebo condition occurred on a separate counter-balanced day. Subjective response to alcohol was investigated at similar time points during both conditions. Group, condition, and group-by-condition interactions were modeled, with condition and time of subjective response assessment as repeated within-subject variables, and subjective response to alcohol as the dependent variable. Greater stimulating effects and liking of alcohol were reported in people with bipolar disorder (group-by-condition interactions, p < .05) than healthy young adults. While young adults with bipolar disorder reported anticipating feeling less "mellow/relaxed" when drinking (p = .02), during both beverage conditions they reported feeling more "mellow/relaxed" (main effect of group, p = .006). Feeling more "mellow/relaxed" during the alcohol condition related to greater recent alcohol use in bipolar disorder (p = .001). Exploratory analyses suggested anticonvulsants and sedatives/antihistamines may relate to differences in subjective response to alcohol in bipolar disorder. Results suggest young adults with bipolar disorder may differ in alcohol expectancies and experience alcohol intoxication differently-with distinct relations between subjective response to alcohol and alcohol use-compared to healthy young adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth T C Lippard
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, 1601 Trinity Street, Stop Z0600, HDB, Austin, TX, 78712, USA.
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA.
- Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA.
- Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA.
- Institute of Early Life Adversity Research, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA.
| | - Dylan E Kirsch
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, 1601 Trinity Street, Stop Z0600, HDB, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
- Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Raquel Kosted
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, 1601 Trinity Street, Stop Z0600, HDB, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Vanessa Le
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, 1601 Trinity Street, Stop Z0600, HDB, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Jorge R C Almeida
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, 1601 Trinity Street, Stop Z0600, HDB, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - Kim Fromme
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
- Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Stephen M Strakowski
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, 1601 Trinity Street, Stop Z0600, HDB, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
- Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
- Institute for Neuroscience, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA
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3
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Cousijn J, Mies G, Runia N, Derksen M, Willuhn I, Lesscher H. The impact of age on olfactory alcohol cue-reactivity: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study in adolescent and adult male drinkers. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2023; 47:668-677. [PMID: 36855285 DOI: 10.1111/acer.15037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Adolescence is marked not only by rapid surges in the prevalence of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) but also by remarkable recovery rates, as most adolescent-onset AUDs naturally resolve over time. Little is known about the differential vulnerability of adolescents and adults. Therefore, this study aimed to unravel the moderating role of age by comparing neural alcohol cue-reactivity, an important AUD biomarker, between low-to-high beer-drinking adolescent (n = 50, 16 to 18 years), and adult (n = 51, 30 to 35 years) males matched on drinking severity. METHODS Associations between beer odor-induced brain activity and AUD diagnosis, severity of alcohol use-related problems, recent alcohol use, binge-drinking frequency, and task-induced craving were investigated across and between age groups in regions of interest thought to be central in alcohol cue-reactivity: the medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and striatal subregions (nucleus accumbens and caudate putamen). These analyses were complemented by exploratory whole-brain analyses. RESULTS Pre-task beer craving increased pre-to-post task in adolescents only. Individual differences in alcohol use, binge drinking, and craving did not relate to beer odor-induced activity. Although region-of-interest analyses did not reach significance, whole-brain analyses showed that adolescents with AUD, compared with adolescents without AUD and adults with AUD, had higher beer odor-induced activity in a large mesocorticolimbic cluster encompassing the right caudate, nucleus accumbens, orbitofrontal cortex, and the olfactory sulcus. Activity in the right caudate and putamen was positively associated with the severity of alcohol use-related problems in adolescents but negatively associated in adults. CONCLUSION These findings suggest a differential role of alcohol cue-reactivity in adolescents compared with adults with AUD and highlight the need for further studies investigating the role of age in the fundamental processes underlying the development of and recovery from of AUD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janna Cousijn
- Neuroscience of Addiction (NofA) Lab, Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.,Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Gabry Mies
- Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Karakter Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Nora Runia
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Maik Derksen
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ingo Willuhn
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.,Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Heidi Lesscher
- Unit Animals in Science and Society, Division of Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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4
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Timme NM, Ma B, Linsenbardt D, Cornwell E, Galbari T, Lapish CC. Compulsive alcohol drinking in rodents is associated with altered representations of behavioral control and seeking in dorsal medial prefrontal cortex. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3990. [PMID: 35810193 PMCID: PMC9271071 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31731-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
A key feature of compulsive alcohol drinking is continuing to drink despite negative consequences. To examine the changes in neural activity that underlie this behavior, compulsive alcohol drinking was assessed in a validated rodent model of heritable risk for excessive drinking (alcohol preferring (P) rats). Neural activity was measured in dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC-a brain region involved in maladaptive decision-making) and assessed via change point analyses and novel principal component analyses. Neural population representations of specific decision-making variables were measured to determine how they were altered in animals that drink alcohol compulsively. Compulsive animals showed weakened representations of behavioral control signals, but strengthened representations of alcohol seeking-related signals. Finally, chemogenetic-based excitation of dmPFC prevented escalation of compulsive alcohol drinking. Collectively, these data indicate that compulsive alcohol drinking in rats is associated with alterations in dmPFC neural activity that underlie diminished behavioral control and enhanced seeking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas M Timme
- Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA.
| | - Baofeng Ma
- Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA
| | - David Linsenbardt
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Ethan Cornwell
- Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA
| | - Taylor Galbari
- Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA
| | - Christopher C Lapish
- Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA
- Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA
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5
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Folco KL, Fridberg DJ, Arcurio LR, Finn PR, Heiman JR, James TW. Neural mechanisms of sexual decision-making in women with alcohol use disorder. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2021; 238:1867-1883. [PMID: 33738536 PMCID: PMC8238910 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-021-05815-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE The co-occurrence of alcohol consumption and sexual activity is associated with increased risk for sexual assault, sexually transmitted disease, and unplanned pregnancy among young adult women with alcohol use disorder (AUD). There is considerable previous work demonstrating neural reactivity to alcohol cues in AUD. Because alcohol consumption and sexual behavior are both rewarding and tend to co-occur, sexual cues may produce similar neural reactivity in women with AUD, possibly indicating a shared mechanism underlying reactivity to both types of cues. Alternatively, reactivity to alcohol versus sexual cues may be distinct, suggesting domain-specific mechanisms. OBJECTIVES We investigated whether the decision vulnerabilities in AUD women regarding sexual activity were related to differences in brain activation compared to control women. METHODS Women with (n = 15) and without (n = 16) AUD completed a hypothetical decision-making task during fMRI that presented low- or high-risk scenarios involving visual sexual, appetitive, and neutral cues. RESULTS Results showed that sexual cues were more often endorsed by women with AUD compared to controls and elicited differential brain activation patterns in frontal, visual, and reward regions. During high-risk decisions, women with AUD failed to downregulate activation, causing hyperactivation compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS Visual sexual cues produced reactivity like that previously demonstrated for alcohol cues, suggesting a shared or domain-general mechanism for alcohol and sexual cue reactivity in women with AUD. Riskier sexual decisions in women with AUD may be a consequence of repeatedly pairing alcohol use and sexual activity, a characteristic behavior of this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kess L Folco
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 E 10th St, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
| | - Daniel J Fridberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Lindsay R Arcurio
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 E 10th St, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
| | - Peter R Finn
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 E 10th St, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
| | - Julia R Heiman
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 E 10th St, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA
| | - Thomas W James
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, 1101 E 10th St, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA.
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6
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McCane AM, Auterson CD, DeLory MJ, Lapish CC, Czachowski CL. Differential effects of quinine adulteration of alcohol on seeking and drinking. Alcohol 2021; 92:73-80. [PMID: 33465465 PMCID: PMC8026625 DOI: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2021.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2020] [Revised: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol dependence is characterized by compulsive alcohol use. Alcohol-paired stimuli can drive compulsive alcohol use, induce craving, and lead to relapse. Alcohol dependence is highly heritable, and individuals with a family history are at elevated risk to develop an alcohol use disorder. Understanding the association between genetic vulnerability to alcohol dependence and neural alterations that promote an addiction phenotype are critical to the prevention and treatment of alcohol dependence. Here we use selectively bred alcohol-preferring P rats and their progenitor strain, Wistar rats, to investigate the relationship between genetic liability and alcohol-seeking and drinking behaviors in a discriminative stimuli paradigm. To further investigate strain differences in motivated responding, alcohol was adulterated with quinine, and intake and responding were assessed. While both strains learned to discriminate between stimuli that predicted alcohol availability, P rats learned faster and consumed more alcohol. Quinine adulteration reduced ethanol intake in both strains with no effect on ethanol-seeking measures. These data suggest genetic vulnerability to alcohol dependence is associated with increased motivated behaviors and highlight the utility of P rats in teasing apart the neural mechanisms associated with this phenotype. Additionally, these data suggest a dissociation between the neural systems that engage ethanol drinking versus compulsive ethanol seeking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aqilah M McCane
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN 46202, United States.
| | - Curtis D Auterson
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN 46202, United States
| | - Michael J DeLory
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN 46202, United States
| | - Christopher C Lapish
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN 46202, United States; Stark Neuroscience Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, United States
| | - Cristine L Czachowski
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN 46202, United States; Stark Neuroscience Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202, United States
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7
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Leganes‐Fonteneau M, Buckman J, Pawlak A, Vaschillo B, Vaschillo E, Bates M. Interoceptive signaling in alcohol cognitive biases: Role of family history and alliesthetic components. Addict Biol 2021; 26:e12952. [PMID: 32803824 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Revised: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The role of interoceptive signals in the development of cognitive biases for drug-related cues has been hypothesized in the past; however, experimental evidence is lacking. This report examined the relationship between physiological responses and memories for alcohol cues. Participants (n = 158) were categorized as having either a positive or negative family history of alcohol use disorder (AUD). They were assigned to an alcohol, placebo, or control beverage condition to which they were blinded. All participants were presented with alcohol, neutral, and emotional cues. Heart rate variability (HRV) at 0.1 Hz, as an index of viscero-afferent reactivity, and in the high-frequency range was measured during picture-cue exposure. Participants then completed free recall and repetition priming tasks to assess memories for previously presented stimuli. Participants with a positive family history (FHP) for AUD who received an alcohol beverage displayed a positive relationship between 0.1 Hz HRV and free recall. This effect was specific to alcohol cues, highlighting the relevance of physiological signals in the development of alcohol cognitive biases. These results support the hypothesis of a coordinated brain-body interaction in the development of drug-related behaviors. FHP as an AUD risk factor may increase the mapping of physiological responses onto cognitive biases for alcohol cues. Increased ratings of subjective intoxication dampened this relationship, suggesting that perceived bodily states may modulate incentive salience processes. This report provides novel evidence for the involvement of interoceptive signals in addictive processes, setting a precedent for the exploration of brain-body interactions in the study of alcohol cognitive biases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mateo Leganes‐Fonteneau
- Department of Kinesiology and Health Rutgers University‐New Brunswick New Brunswick New Jersey USA
- Cardiac Neuroscience Laboratory, Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies Rutgers University‐New Brunswick New Brunswick New Jersey USA
| | - Jennifer Buckman
- Department of Kinesiology and Health Rutgers University‐New Brunswick New Brunswick New Jersey USA
- Cardiac Neuroscience Laboratory, Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies Rutgers University‐New Brunswick New Brunswick New Jersey USA
| | - Anthony Pawlak
- Department of Kinesiology and Health Rutgers University‐New Brunswick New Brunswick New Jersey USA
- Cardiac Neuroscience Laboratory, Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies Rutgers University‐New Brunswick New Brunswick New Jersey USA
| | - Bronya Vaschillo
- Department of Kinesiology and Health Rutgers University‐New Brunswick New Brunswick New Jersey USA
- Cardiac Neuroscience Laboratory, Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies Rutgers University‐New Brunswick New Brunswick New Jersey USA
| | - Evgeny Vaschillo
- Department of Kinesiology and Health Rutgers University‐New Brunswick New Brunswick New Jersey USA
- Cardiac Neuroscience Laboratory, Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies Rutgers University‐New Brunswick New Brunswick New Jersey USA
| | - Marsha Bates
- Department of Kinesiology and Health Rutgers University‐New Brunswick New Brunswick New Jersey USA
- Cardiac Neuroscience Laboratory, Center of Alcohol and Substance Use Studies Rutgers University‐New Brunswick New Brunswick New Jersey USA
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8
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Al-Khalil K, Vakamudi K, Witkiewitz K, Claus ED. Neural correlates of alcohol use disorder severity among nontreatment-seeking heavy drinkers: An examination of the incentive salience and negative emotionality domains of the alcohol and addiction research domain criteria. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2021; 45:1200-1214. [PMID: 33864389 DOI: 10.1111/acer.14614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2020] [Revised: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Alcohol and Addiction Research Domain Criteria (AARDoC) propose that alcohol use disorder is associated with neural dysfunction in three primary domains: incentive salience, negative emotionality, and executive function. Prior studies in heavy drinking samples have examined brain activation changes associated with alcohol and negative affect cues, representing the incentive salience and negative emotionality domains, respectively. Yet studies examining such cue-induced changes in functional connectivity (FC) are relatively sparse. METHODS Nontreatment-seeking heavy drinking adults (N = 149, 56.0% male, 48.6% non-white, mean age 34.8 years (SD = 10.0)) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during presentation of alcohol, negative, and neutral pictures. We focused on FC changes involving the nucleus accumbens and amygdala in addition to activation and FC correlations with self-reported AUD severity. RESULTS For alcohol cues versus neutral cues, we observed accumbens FC changes in the cerebellum and prefrontal cortex (PFC), and amygdala FC changes with occipital, parietal, and hippocampal regions. AUD severity correlated positively with activation in the cerebellum (p < 0.05), accumbens FC in the cingulate gyri, somatosensory gyri, and cerebellum (p < 0.05), and with amygdala FC in the PFC and inferior parietal lobule (p < 0.05) for alcohol cues versus neutral cues. For negative cues versus neutral cues, we observed accumbens FC changes in the lateral temporal, occipital, and parietal regions, and amygdala FC changes in the fusiform and lingual gyri (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The present findings provide empirical support for the AARDoC domains of incentive salience and negative emotionality and indicate that AUD severity is associated with salience and response control for reward cues. When covarying for differences in nonalcohol substance use and mood disorder diagnoses, AUD severity was also associated with emotional reactivity for negative cues.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Katie Witkiewitz
- Center on Alcohol, Substance Use, and Addictions, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
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9
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Agarwal K, Manza P, Leggio L, Livinski AA, Volkow ND, Joseph PV. Sensory cue reactivity: Sensitization in alcohol use disorder and obesity. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 124:326-357. [PMID: 33587959 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2020] [Revised: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Neuroimaging techniques to measure the function of the human brain such as electroencephalography (EEG), positron emission tomography (PET), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), are powerful tools for understanding the underlying neural circuitry associated with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and obesity. The sensory (visual, taste and smell) paradigms used in neuroimaging studies represent an ideal platform to investigate the connection between the different neural circuits subserving the reward/executive control systems in these disorders, which may offer a translational mechanism for novel intervention predictions. Thus, the current review provides an integrated summary of the recent neuroimaging studies that have applied cue-reactivity paradigms and neuromodulation strategies to explore underlying alterations in neural circuitry as well in treatment strategies in AUD and obesity. Finally, we discuss literature on mechanisms associated with increased alcohol sensitivity post-bariatric surgery (BS) which offers guidance for future research to use sensory percepts in elucidating the relation of reward signaling in AUD development post-BS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khushbu Agarwal
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, USA; National Institute of Nursing Research, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Peter Manza
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Lorenzo Leggio
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, USA; National Institute on Drug Abuse, Bethesda and Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Nora D Volkow
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, USA; National Institute on Drug Abuse, Bethesda and Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Paule Valery Joseph
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, USA; National Institute of Nursing Research, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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10
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Vena AA, Zandy SL, Cofresí RU, Gonzales RA. Behavioral, neurobiological, and neurochemical mechanisms of ethanol self-administration: A translational review. Pharmacol Ther 2020; 212:107573. [PMID: 32437827 PMCID: PMC7580704 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2020.107573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder has multiple characteristics including excessive ethanol consumption, impaired control over drinking behaviors, craving and withdrawal symptoms, compulsive seeking behaviors, and is considered a chronic condition. Relapse is common. Determining the neurobiological targets of ethanol and the adaptations induced by chronic ethanol exposure is critical to understanding the clinical manifestation of alcohol use disorders, the mechanisms underlying the various features of the disorder, and for informing medication development. In the present review, we discuss ethanol's interactions with a variety of neurotransmitter systems, summarizing findings from preclinical and translational studies to highlight recent progress in the field. We then describe animal models of ethanol self-administration, emphasizing the value, limitations, and validity of commonly used models. Lastly, we summarize the behavioral changes induced by chronic ethanol self-administration, with an emphasis on cue-elicited behavior, the role of ethanol-related memories, and the emergence of habitual ethanol seeking behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley A Vena
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, United States of America
| | | | - Roberto U Cofresí
- Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, United States of America
| | - Rueben A Gonzales
- Division of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy and Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, United States of America.
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11
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Le TM, Zhornitsky S, Zhang S, Li CSR. Pain and reward circuits antagonistically modulate alcohol expectancy to regulate drinking. Transl Psychiatry 2020; 10:220. [PMID: 32636394 PMCID: PMC7341762 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-020-00909-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Revised: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Expectancy of physical and social pleasure (PSP) promotes excessive drinking despite the potential aversive effects of misuse, suggesting an imbalance in the response to reward and pain in alcohol seeking. Here, we investigated the competing roles of the reward and pain circuits in PSP expectancy and problem drinking in humans. Using fMRI data during resting (n = 180) and during alcohol cue exposure (n = 71), we examined the antagonistic effects of the reward-related medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and pain-related periaqueductal gray (PAG) connectivities on PSP expectancy and drinking severity. The two regions' connectivity maps and strengths were characterized to assess their shared substrates and net relationship with PSP expectancy. We evaluated mediation and path models to further delineate how mOFC and PAG connectivities interacted through the shared substrates to differentially impact expectancy and alcohol use. During resting, whole-brain regressions showed mOFC connectivity in positive and PAG connectivity in negative association with PSP scores, with convergence in the precentral gyrus (PrCG). Notably, greater PAG-PrCG relative to mOFC-PrCG connectivity strength predicted lower PSP expectancy. During the alcohol cue exposure task, the net strength of the PAG vs. mOFC cue-elicited connectivity with the occipital cortex again negatively predicted PSP expectancy. Finally, mediation and path models revealed that the PAG and mOFC connectivities indirectly and antagonistically modulated problem drinking via their opposing influences on expectancy and craving. Thus, the pain and reward circuits exhibit functional antagonism such that the mOFC connectivity increases expectancy of drinking pleasure whereas the PAG serves to counter that effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thang M Le
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA.
| | - Simon Zhornitsky
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Sheng Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
| | - Chiang-Shan R Li
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA
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12
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Striatal dynamics as determinants of reduced gambling vulnerability in the NHE rat model of ADHD. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2020; 100:109886. [PMID: 32045636 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.109886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Revised: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 02/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The Naples High-Excitability (NHE) is a validated rat strain to model for a mesocortical variant of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). NHE rats' brains have a tuned-down cortical and a potentiated limbic loop (Zoratto et al., 2017). ADHD and comorbid pathological gambling (PG) involve similar deficits of prefrontal-striatal dialogue. This work aimed to understand if NHE rats (compared to normal random-bred rats, NRB) can be a useful model for gambling vulnerability in ADHD. Experiment 1 evaluated gambling proneness in NHE rats, namely attraction/avoidance in nose-poking for a "Large & Luck-Linked" (LLL) reward (versus a "Small & Sure" one, SS), when the probability of LLL delivery was progressively reduced. Experiment 2 assessed (by phMRI) differential responsivity of ventral (vStr) versus dorsal (dStr) striatum following a methylphenidate (MPH, 4 mg/kg I.P.) challenge. In NHE rats, reduced attraction by secondary cues (associated with uncertain, rarefying LLL delivery) comes along with little or no activation of dStr and enhanced activation of vStr by MPH. Together, such evidences from NHE rats indicate distinctive roles of ventral (enhanced value given to actual primary reward) and dorsal (lower encoding of repeated stimulus-reward associations into a habit) striatum. In conclusion, the dynamics of reward systems could link an attention deficit with a decreased vulnerability to pathological gambling.
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13
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Cyders MA, Plawecki MH, Corbin W, King A, McCarthy DM, Ramchandani VA, Weafer J, O'Connor SJ. To Infuse or Ingest in Human Laboratory Alcohol Research. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2020; 44:764-776. [PMID: 32056250 DOI: 10.1111/acer.14305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2019] [Accepted: 02/02/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Human alcohol laboratory studies use two routes of alcohol administration: ingestion and infusion. The goal of this paper was to compare and contrast these alcohol administration methods. The work summarized in this report was the basis of a 2019 Research Society on Alcoholism Roundtable, "To Ingest or Infuse: A Comparison of Oral and Intravenous Alcohol Administration Methods for Human Alcohol Laboratory Designs." We review the methodological approaches of each and highlight strengths and weaknesses pertaining to different research questions. We summarize methodological considerations to aid researchers in choosing the most appropriate method for their inquiry, considering exposure variability, alcohol expectancy effects, safety, bandwidth, technical skills, documentation of alcohol exposure, experimental variety, ecological validity, and cost. Ingestion of alcohol remains a common and often a preferable, methodological practice in alcohol research. Nonetheless, the main problem with ingestion is that even the most careful calculation of dose and control of dosing procedures yields substantial and uncontrollable variability in the participants' brain exposures to alcohol. Infusion methodologies provide precise exposure control but are technically complex and may be limited in ecological validity. We suggest that alcohol ingestion research may not be the same thing as alcohol exposure research; investigators should be aware of the advantages and disadvantages that the choice between ingestion and infusion of alcohol invokes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa A Cyders
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University Purdue University - Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
| | - Martin H Plawecki
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
| | - William Corbin
- Department of Psychology, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States
| | - Andrea King
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Chicago School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, United States
| | - Denis M McCarthy
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Universtiy of Missouri - Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, United States
| | - Vijay A Ramchandani
- Section on Human Psychopharmacology, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
| | - Jessica Weafer
- Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States
| | - Sean J O'Connor
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
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14
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Cofresí RU, Bartholow BD, Piasecki TM. Evidence for incentive salience sensitization as a pathway to alcohol use disorder. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 107:897-926. [PMID: 31672617 PMCID: PMC6878895 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Revised: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 10/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The incentive salience sensitization (ISS) theory of addiction holds that addictive behavior stems from the ability of drugs to progressively sensitize the brain circuitry that mediates attribution of incentive salience (IS) to reward-predictive cues and its behavioral manifestations. In this article, we establish the plausibility of ISS as an etiological pathway to alcohol use disorder (AUD). We provide a comprehensive and critical review of evidence for: (1) the ability of alcohol to sensitize the brain circuitry of IS attribution and expression; and (2) attribution of IS to alcohol-predictive cues and its sensitization in humans and non-human animals. We point out gaps in the literature and how these might be addressed. We also highlight how individuals with different alcohol subjective response phenotypes may differ in susceptibility to ISS as a pathway to AUD. Finally, we discuss important implications of this neuropsychological mechanism in AUD for psychological and pharmacological interventions attempting to attenuate alcohol craving and cue reactivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto U Cofresí
- University of Missouri, Department of Psychological Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211, United States.
| | - Bruce D Bartholow
- University of Missouri, Department of Psychological Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211, United States
| | - Thomas M Piasecki
- University of Missouri, Department of Psychological Sciences, Columbia, MO 65211, United States
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15
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Encoding of the Intent to Drink Alcohol by the Prefrontal Cortex Is Blunted in Rats with a Family History of Excessive Drinking. eNeuro 2019; 6:ENEURO.0489-18.2019. [PMID: 31358511 PMCID: PMC6712204 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0489-18.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2018] [Revised: 04/19/2019] [Accepted: 06/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a central role in guiding decision making, and its function is altered by alcohol use and an individual's innate risk for excessive alcohol drinking. The primary goal of this work was to determine how neural activity in the PFC guides the decision to drink. Towards this goal, the within-session changes in neural activity were measured from medial PFC (mPFC) of rats performing a drinking procedure that allowed them to consume or abstain from alcohol in a self-paced manner. Recordings were obtained from rats that either lacked or expressed an innate risk for excessive alcohol intake, Wistar or alcohol-preferring (P) rats, respectively. Wistar rats exhibited patterns of neural activity consistent with the intention to drink or abstain from drinking, whereas these patterns were blunted or absent in P rats. Collectively, these data indicate that neural activity patterns in mPFC associated with the intention to drink alcohol are influenced by innate risk for excessive alcohol drinking. This observation may indicate a lack of control over the decision to drink by this otherwise well-validated supervisory brain region.
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16
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Bosse KE, Ghoddoussi F, Eapen AT, Charlton JL, Susick LL, Desai K, Berkowitz BA, Perrine SA, Conti AC. Calcium/calmodulin-stimulated adenylyl cyclases 1 and 8 regulate reward-related brain activity and ethanol consumption. Brain Imaging Behav 2019; 13:396-407. [PMID: 29594872 PMCID: PMC6202255 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-018-9856-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Evidence suggests a predictive link between elevated basal activity within reward-related networks (e.g., cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic networks) and vulnerability for alcoholism. Both calcium channel function and cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)/protein kinase A-mediated signaling are critical modulators of reward neurocircuitry and reward-related behaviors. Calcium/calmodulin-stimulated adenylyl cyclases (AC) 1 and 8 are sensitive to activity-dependent increases in intracellular calcium and catalyze cAMP production. Therefore, we hypothesized AC1 and 8 regulate brain activity in reward regions of the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic circuit and that this regulatory influence predicts voluntary ethanol drinking responses. This hypothesis was evaluated by manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging and chronic, intermittent ethanol access procedures. Ethanol-naïve mice with genetic deletion of both AC1 and 8 (DKO mice) exhibited bilateral reductions in baseline activity within cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic regions associated with reward processing compared to wild-type controls (WT, C57BL/6 mice). Significant activity changes were not evident in regions either outside of the cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic network or within the network that are not associated with reward processing. Parallel studies demonstrated that reward network hypoactivity in DKO mice predicted a significant attenuation in consumption and preference levels to escalating ethanol concentrations (12, 20 and 30%) compared to WT mice, an effect that was maintained over extended access (14 sessions) to 20% ethanol. Summarizing, these data support a contribution of AC1 and 8 in cortico-basal ganglia-thalamic activity and the predictive value of this regulatory influence on ethanol drinking behavior, which merits the future evaluation of calcium-stimulated ACs in the neural processes that engender vulnerability to maladaptive alcohol drinking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly E Bosse
- Research & Development Service, John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, Detroit, MI, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Farhad Ghoddoussi
- Department of Anesthesiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Ajay T Eapen
- Research & Development Service, John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, Detroit, MI, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Jennifer L Charlton
- Research & Development Service, John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, Detroit, MI, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Laura L Susick
- Research & Development Service, John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, Detroit, MI, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Kirt Desai
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Bruce A Berkowitz
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Shane A Perrine
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Alana C Conti
- Research & Development Service, John D. Dingell VA Medical Center, Detroit, MI, USA.
- Department of Neurosurgery, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.
- Department of Neurosurgery, Wayne State University, 4646 John R St., Detroit, MI, 48201, USA.
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17
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Claus ED, Klimaj SD, Chavez R, Martinez AD, Clark VP. A Randomized Trial of Combined tDCS Over Right Inferior Frontal Cortex and Cognitive Bias Modification: Null Effects on Drinking and Alcohol Approach Bias. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2019; 43:1591-1599. [PMID: 31081924 DOI: 10.1111/acer.14111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Deriving novel treatments for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) is of critical importance, as existing treatments are only modestly effective for reducing drinking. Two promising strategies for treating AUDs include cognitive bias modification (CBM) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). While each strategy has shown positive results in reducing drinking or alcohol-related constructs (e.g., craving), initial tests of the combination of CBM and tDCS have shown mixed results. The present study investigated the degree to which combining CBM and tDCS (2.0 mA anodal current over F10) could reduce alcohol approach biases and alcohol consumption. METHODS Seventy-nine at-risk drinkers were randomized to 1 of 4 conditions in a 2 × 2 factorial design: verum CBM/verum tDCS, verum CBM/sham tDCS, sham CBM/verum tDCS, or sham CBM/sham tDCS. Participants completed a baseline assessment of alcohol approach bias and drinking quantity/frequency (i.e., drinks per drinking day [DDD] and percent heavy drinking days [PHDD]), 4 sessions of combined CBM and tDCS, and follow-up assessments of approach bias and alcohol consumption. RESULTS Results indicated that while participants did demonstrate significant alcohol approach biases at baseline, neither CBM, tDCS, nor the interaction reduced the bias at the follow-up. In addition, there was evidence of a trend toward reducing DDD from baseline to the 1-week/1-month follow-ups, but there was no significant effect of the intervention on either DDD or PHDD. CONCLUSIONS These results partially replicated null results presented in similar CBM/tDCS trials and suggest that this combination, at least with anodal stimulation over dorsolateral or inferior frontal sites, may have limited utility to reduce drinking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric D Claus
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | | | - Roberta Chavez
- Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addiction, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Amber D Martinez
- Center on Alcoholism, Substance Abuse, and Addiction, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Vincent P Clark
- The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, New Mexico.,Psychology Clinical Neuroscience Center, Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico
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18
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Cannella N, Ubaldi M, Masi A, Bramucci M, Roberto M, Bifone A, Ciccocioppo R. Building better strategies to develop new medications in Alcohol Use Disorder: Learning from past success and failure to shape a brighter future. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 103:384-398. [PMID: 31112713 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.05.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2019] [Revised: 05/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/15/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a chronic disease that develops over the years. The complexity of the neurobiological processes contributing to the emergence of AUD and the neuroadaptive changes occurring during disease progression make it difficult to improve treatments. On the other hand, this complexity offers researchers the possibility to explore new targets. Over years of intense research several molecules were tested in AUD; in most cases, despite promising preclinical data, the clinical efficacy appeared insufficient to justify futher development. A prototypical example is that of corticotropin releasing factor type 1 receptor (CRF1R) antagonists that showed significant effectiveness in animal models of AUD but were largely ineffective in humans. The present article attempts to analyze the most recent venues in the development of new medications in AUD with a focus on the most promising drug targets under current exploration. Moreover, we delineate the importance of using a more integrated translational framework approach to correlate preclinical findings and early clinical data to enhance the probability to validate biological targets of interest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nazzareno Cannella
- School of Pharmacy, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, 62032 Camerino, Italy
| | - Massimo Ubaldi
- School of Pharmacy, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, 62032 Camerino, Italy
| | - Alessio Masi
- School of Pharmacy, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, 62032 Camerino, Italy
| | - Massimo Bramucci
- School of Pharmacy, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, 62032 Camerino, Italy
| | - Marisa Roberto
- The Scripps Research Institute, Department of Neuroscience, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Angelo Bifone
- Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems @UniTn, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Corso Bettini 31, 38068 Rovereto, Italy; Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Health Science, University of Torino, Italy
| | - Roberto Ciccocioppo
- School of Pharmacy, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, 62032 Camerino, Italy.
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19
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Fritz M, Klawonn AM, Zahr NM. Neuroimaging in alcohol use disorder: From mouse to man. J Neurosci Res 2019; 100:1140-1158. [PMID: 31006907 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Revised: 02/15/2019] [Accepted: 03/14/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
This article provides an overview of recent advances in understanding the effects of alcohol use disorders (AUD) on the brain from the perspective of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) research in preclinical models and clinical studies. As a noninvasive investigational tool permitting assessment of morphological, metabolic, and hemodynamic changes over time, MRI offers insight into the dynamic course of alcoholism beginning with initial exposure through periods of binge drinking and escalation, sobriety, and relapse and has been useful in differential diagnosis of neurological diseases associated with AUD. Structural MRI has revealed acute and chronic effects of alcohol on both white and gray matter volumes. MR Spectroscopy, able to quantify brain metabolites in vivo, has shed light on biochemical alterations associated with alcoholism. Diffusion tensor imaging permits microstructural characterization of white matter fiber tracts. Functional MRI has allowed for elucidation of hemodynamic responses at rest and during task engagement. Positron emission tomography, a non-MRI imaging tool, has led to a deeper understanding of alcohol-induced receptor and neurotransmitter changes during various stages of drinking and abstinence. Together, such in vivo imaging tools have expanded our understanding of the dynamic course of alcoholism including evidence for regional specificity of the effects of AUD, hints at mechanisms underlying the shift from casual to compulsive use of alcohol, and profound recovery with sustained abstinence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Fritz
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California
| | - Anna M Klawonn
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California
| | - Natalie M Zahr
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California.,Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, California
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20
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Comstock SM, Vaidya JG, Niciu MJ. Neurophysiological Correlates and Differential Drug Response in Subjects With a Family History of an Alcohol Use Disorder. CHRONIC STRESS (THOUSAND OAKS, CALIF.) 2019; 3:2470547019865267. [PMID: 31511840 PMCID: PMC6738944 DOI: 10.1177/2470547019865267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
A family history of an alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been shown to increase one's risk of developing an AUD. Additionally, a positive family history of AUD (family history positive (FHP)) has neurobiological and neuropsychopharmacological consequences, and this review summarizes differential drug response as well as neuroanatomical and neurocognitive correlates. FHP status is related to altered responses to a number of drugs, including substances with abuse liability like alcohol, opioids, amphetamines, and ketamine. FHP individuals demonstrate fewer aversive effects and more rewarding response to both alcohol and subanesthetic dose ketamine. Ketamine is a rapid-acting antidepressant, and several studies have reported that ketamine is more effective for FHP treatment-resistant depressed individuals. In short, the reviewed neurophysiological differences may contribute to ketamine's enhanced antidepressant efficacy in FHP patients. Volumetric differences in the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, neocortex, and cerebellum are commonly reported. Furthermore, FHP has also been associated with altered neurocognitive performance, e.g., increased impulsivity. The imaging and psychological literature supports a neurodevelopmental lag hypothesis in FHP youth. The review will further discuss these findings in depth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sage M. Comstock
- Department of Psychiatry, Iowa
Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa Health Care, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Jatin G. Vaidya
- Department of Psychiatry, Iowa
Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa Health Care, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Mark J. Niciu
- Department of Psychiatry, Iowa
Neuroscience Institute, University of Iowa Health Care, Iowa City, IA, USA
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21
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COMT Inhibition Alters Cue-Evoked Oscillatory Dynamics during Alcohol Drinking in the Rat. eNeuro 2018; 5:eN-NWR-0326-18. [PMID: 30406194 PMCID: PMC6220588 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0326-18.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2018] [Accepted: 09/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Alterations in the corticostriatal system have been implicated in numerous substance use disorders, including alcohol use disorder (AUD). Adaptations in this neural system are associated with enhanced drug-seeking behaviors following exposure to cues predicting drug availability. Therefore, understanding how potential treatments alter neural activity in this system could lead to more refined and effective approaches for AUD. Local field potentials (LFPs) were acquired simultaneously in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and nucleus accumbens (NA) of both alcohol preferring (P) and Wistar rats engaged in a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm wherein a light cue signaled the availability of ethanol (EtOH). On test days, the catechol-o-methyl-transferase (COMT) inhibitor tolcapone was administered prior to conditioning. Stimulus-evoked voltage changes were observed following the presentation of the EtOH cue in both strains and were most pronounced in the PFC of P rats. Phase analyses of LFPs in the θ band (5–11 Hz) revealed that PFC-NA synchrony was reduced in P rats relative to Wistars but was robustly increased during drinking. Presentation of the cue resulted in a larger phase reset in the PFC of P rats but not Wistars, an effect that was attenuated by tolcapone. Additionally, tolcapone reduced cued EtOH intake in P rat but not Wistars. These results suggest a link between corticostriatal synchrony and genetic risk for excessive drinking. Moreover, inhibition of COMT within these systems may result in reduced attribution of salience to reward paired stimuli via modulation of stimulus-evoked changes to cortical oscillations in genetically susceptible populations.
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22
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McPhee MD, Claus ED, Boileau I, Lee ACH, Graff-Guerrero A, Hendershot CS. Does Family History of Alcohol Use Disorder Relate to Differences in Regional Brain Volumes? A Descriptive Review with New Data. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2018; 42:2369-2384. [PMID: 30204241 DOI: 10.1111/acer.13882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Differences in regional brain volumes as a function of family history (FH) of alcohol use disorder (AUD) have been reported, and it has been suggested that these differences might index genetic risk for AUD. However, results have been inconsistent. The aims of the current study were (i) to provide an updated descriptive review of the existing literature and (ii) to examine the association of FH with indices of subcortical volumes and cortical thickness in a sample of youth recruited based on FH status. METHODS To address aim 1, a literature search located 15 published studies comprising 1,735 participants. Studies were characterized according to population, analytic methods, regions of interest, and primary findings. To address the second aim, we examined volumetric and cortical thickness in a sample of 69 youth (mean age = 19.71 years, SD = 0.79) recruited based on FH status and matched on drinking variables. Associations of sex and alcohol use with volumetric outcomes were also examined. RESULTS Our descriptive review revealed an inconsistent pattern of results with respect to the presence, direction, and regional specificity of volumetric differences across FH groups. The most consistent finding, significantly smaller amygdala volumes in FH+ participants, was not replicated in all studies. In the current sample of youth, measures of subcortical volumes and cortical thickness did not significantly differ as a function of FH, sex, or their interaction. CONCLUSIONS Evidence for FH group differences in regional brain volumes is inconsistent, and the current study failed to detect any group differences. Further research is needed to confirm the reproducibility of FH group differences and implications for AUD risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew D McPhee
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Eric D Claus
- Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico
| | - Isabelle Boileau
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Andy C H Lee
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, Toronto, Canada
| | - Ariel Graff-Guerrero
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada.,Multimodal Imaging Group, Research Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada.,Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Christian S Hendershot
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.,Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
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23
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Yang BZ, Arias A, Feinn R, Krystal JH, Gelernter J, Petrakis I. GRIK1 and GABRA2 Variants Have Distinct Effects on the Dose-Related Subjective Response to Intravenous Alcohol in Healthy Social Drinkers. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2017; 41:2025-2032. [PMID: 29131352 PMCID: PMC5764175 DOI: 10.1111/acer.13516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2017] [Accepted: 09/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The heritable risk for alcohol use disorder (AUD) is expressed partly through alterations in subjective alcohol response. In this study, we investigated the effects of 2 AUD-risk-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms, GABRA2 rs279858 and GRIK1 rs2832407, on the subjective response to alcohol administered intravenously to healthy social drinkers in a laboratory setting. METHODS In total, 93 self-identified European American social drinkers underwent 3 blinded laboratory sessions in which they received intravenous infusions of ethanol at 3 target blood alcohol levels (0.00 mg%, 40 mg%, and 100 mg%) using a "clamp" procedure. The self-reported Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale (BAES) stimulation and sedation subscales were the primary outcome measures. We examined the effects of these 2 genetic variants on subjective response to alcohol. RESULTS For the BAES stimulation subscale scores, adjusting for age, baseline scores, and time effects, individuals with 2 copies of the GABRA2 rs279858 C "risk" allele for AUD exhibited the greatest stimulant responses to high-dose alcohol compared to the other risk allele counts (dose-by-allele count interaction effect, p = 0.001, post hoc contrast for C-allele, p = 0.012). For the BAES sedation subscale scores, adjusting for the same covariates, we detected a dose-by-allele count interaction effect (p = 0.0044) such that subjects with 2 copies of the GRIK1 C "risk" allele reported the greatest sedative response to the higher alcohol dose. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that gene variants contributing to the risk for AUD may alter features of the alcohol dose-response relationship in specific ways. GABRA2 rs279858*C enhances stimulant responses to higher levels of alcohol, while the GRIK1 rs2832407*C-allele increases sedative responses. In summary, GRIK1 and GABRA2 variants have distinct effects on the dose-related subjective response to intravenous alcohol in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bao-Zhu Yang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of MedicineNew Haven, CT
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Alcohol Research Center VA Connecticut Healthcare System (116-A) 950 Campbell Ave West Haven, CT 06516
| | - Albert Arias
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of MedicineNew Haven, CT
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Alcohol Research Center VA Connecticut Healthcare System (116-A) 950 Campbell Ave West Haven, CT 06516
| | | | - John H. Krystal
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of MedicineNew Haven, CT
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Alcohol Research Center VA Connecticut Healthcare System (116-A) 950 Campbell Ave West Haven, CT 06516
| | - Joel Gelernter
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of MedicineNew Haven, CT
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Alcohol Research Center VA Connecticut Healthcare System (116-A) 950 Campbell Ave West Haven, CT 06516
- Departments of Genetics and Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine
| | - Ismene Petrakis
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of MedicineNew Haven, CT
- Department of Veterans Affairs, Alcohol Research Center VA Connecticut Healthcare System (116-A) 950 Campbell Ave West Haven, CT 06516
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Predictors of Naltrexone Response in a Randomized Trial: Reward-Related Brain Activation, OPRM1 Genotype, and Smoking Status. Neuropsychopharmacology 2017; 42:2640-2653. [PMID: 28409564 PMCID: PMC5686497 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2017.74] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2016] [Revised: 03/01/2017] [Accepted: 04/04/2017] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Naltrexone reduces drinking among individuals with alcohol use disorders (AUDs), but it is not effective for everyone. Variability in its effects on reward-related brain activation, genetic variation, and/or cigarette smoking may account for this mixed response profile. This randomized clinical trial tested the effects of naltrexone on drinking and alcohol cue-elicited brain activation, evaluated whether OPRM1 A118G genotype or smoking moderated these effects, and explored whether the effects of medication on cue-elicited activation predicted subsequent drinking. One hundred and fifty-two treatment-seeking individuals with alcohol dependence, half preselected to carry at least one A118G G (Asp) allele, were randomized to naltrexone (50 mg) or placebo for 16 weeks and administered an fMRI alcohol cue reactivity task at baseline and after 2 weeks of treatment. Naltrexone, relative to placebo, significantly reduced alcohol cue-elicited activation of the right ventral striatum (VS) between baseline and week 2 and reduced heavy drinking over 16 weeks. OPRM1 genotype did not significantly moderate these effects, but G-allele carriers who received naltrexone had an accelerated return to heavy drinking after medication was stopped. Smoking moderated the effects of medication on drinking, such that naltrexone was superior to placebo only among smokers. The degree of reduction in right VS activation between scans interacted with medication in predicting subsequent drinking, such that individuals with greater reduction in activation who received naltrexone, but not placebo, experienced the least heavy drinking during the following 14 weeks. These data replicate previous findings that naltrexone reduces heavy drinking and reward-related brain activation among treatment-seeking individuals with AUDs, and indicate that smoking and the magnitude of reduction in cue-elicited brain activation may predict treatment response.
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Barker JM, Taylor JR. Sex differences in incentive motivation and the relationship to the development and maintenance of alcohol use disorders. Physiol Behav 2017; 203:91-99. [PMID: 28974459 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2017.09.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2017] [Revised: 09/08/2017] [Accepted: 09/30/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Despite considerable evidence of higher rates of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in men than in women, there is a dearth of research into the underlying causes of this disparity. As the gap in high risk drinking between men and women closes, it is critical to disentangle the biological factors that may place men and women at different risk for the development of AUDs as well as AUD-associated health problems. While sex differences in alcohol drinking have been reported in animal models and in human alcoholics, it increasingly seems that consummatory behavior may be dissociated from propensity toward inflexible and cue-elicited drug seeking and taking that characterize alcohol use disorders. While much of this work was initially performed in males a growing, yet limited, body of literature suggests that there are sex differences in both cue reactivity, and further, the relationship between cue reactivity and the maintenance of addictive behavior, indicating that males may be at greater risk for the development of a subset of addiction-related behaviors independent of alcohol consumption. Here, we will review the current literature on sex effects on the relationship between incentive motivation and addictive behavior and discuss unanswered questions that we expect will inform the development of individualized and sex-specific treatment and prevention strategies for AUDs. We believe that a greater understanding of how sex interacts with in cue reactivity to independently mediate the drug taking and risk for the development of uncontrolled drug or alcohol-seeking and -taking will inform the development of individualized treatment and prevention strategies for addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline M Barker
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, United States.
| | - Jane R Taylor
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06519, United States
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Wilcox CE, Claus ED. The importance of standardization of stimuli for functional MRI tasks to evaluate substance use disorder pathology. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE 2017; 43:625-627. [PMID: 28345966 DOI: 10.1080/00952990.2017.1299745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Claire E Wilcox
- a Department of Psychiatry , University of New Mexico , Albuquerque , NM , USA
| | - Eric D Claus
- b Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute , Albuquerque , NM , USA
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Zahr NM, Pfefferbaum A, Sullivan EV. Perspectives on fronto-fugal circuitry from human imaging of alcohol use disorders. Neuropharmacology 2017; 122:189-200. [PMID: 28118989 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2017.01.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2016] [Revised: 01/18/2017] [Accepted: 01/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Descriptions of the cognitive functions affected by alcohol use disorders (AUD) often highlight dysfunction of executive processes such attention, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. Such complex cognitive functions have historically been ascribed to the prefrontal cortex. AUD, however, disrupts extensive areas of the brain. Structural and functional MRI studies suggest a central role for degradation of circuitry originating in the prefrontal cortex including nodes in widespread brain regions. This review features fronto-fugal circuits affected by AUD including frontocerebellar, frontolimbic, and frontostriatal networks and their relations to the salient, enduring, and debilitating cognitive and motor deficits reported in AUD. This article is part of the Special Issue entitled "Alcoholism".
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie M Zahr
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Rd., Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Neuroscience Department, SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA.
| | - Adolf Pfefferbaum
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Rd., Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Neuroscience Department, SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Edith V Sullivan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Rd., Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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Neurobiological phenotypes associated with a family history of alcoholism. Drug Alcohol Depend 2016; 158:8-21. [PMID: 26559000 PMCID: PMC4698007 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.10.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2015] [Revised: 10/06/2015] [Accepted: 10/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals with a family history of alcoholism are at much greater risk for developing an alcohol use disorder (AUD) than youth or adults without such history. A large body of research suggests that there are premorbid differences in brain structure and function in family history positive (FHP) individuals relative to their family history negative (FHN) peers. METHODS This review summarizes the existing literature on neurobiological phenotypes present in FHP youth and adults by describing findings across neurophysiological and neuroimaging studies. RESULTS Neuroimaging studies have shown FHP individuals differ from their FHN peers in amygdalar, hippocampal, basal ganglia, and cerebellar volume. Both increased and decreased white matter integrity has been reported in FHP individuals compared with FHN controls. Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have found altered inhibitory control and working memory-related brain response in FHP youth and adults, suggesting neural markers of executive functioning may be related to increased vulnerability for developing AUDs in this population. Additionally, brain activity differences in regions involved in bottom-up reward and emotional processing, such as the nucleus accumbens and amygdala, have been shown in FHP individuals relative to their FHN peers. CONCLUSIONS It is critical to understand premorbid neural characteristics that could be associated with cognitive, reward-related, or emotional risk factors that increase risk for AUDs in FHP individuals. This information may lead to the development of neurobiologically informed prevention and intervention studies focused on reducing the incidence of AUDs in high-risk youth and adults.
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Barker JM, Lench DH, Chandler LJ. Reversal of alcohol dependence-induced deficits in cue-guided behavior via mGluR2/3 signaling in mice. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2016; 233:235-42. [PMID: 26449720 PMCID: PMC4703438 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-015-4101-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2014] [Accepted: 09/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Alcohol use disorders are associated with deficits in adaptive behavior. While some behavioral impairments that are associated with alcohol use disorders may predate exposure to drugs of abuse, others may result directly from exposure to drugs of abuse, including alcohol. Identifying a causal role for how alcohol exposure leads to these impairments will enable further investigation of the neurobiological mechanisms by which it acts to dysregulate adaptive behavior. OBJECTIVES In the present study, we examined the effects of chronic intermittent ethanol exposure (CIE) on the use of reward-paired cues to guide consummatory behaviors in a mouse model, and further, how manipulations of mGluR2/3 signaling-known to be dysregulated after chronic alcohol exposure-may alter the expression of this behavior. METHODS Adult male C57B/6J mice were trained to self-administer 10 % ethanol and exposed to CIE via vapor inhalation. After CIE exposure, mice were trained in a Pavlovian task wherein a cue (tone) was paired with the delivery of a 10 % sucrose unconditioned stimulus. The use of the reward-paired cue to guide licking behavior was determined across training. The effect of systemic mGluR2/3 manipulation on discrimination between cue-on and cue-off intervals was assessed by administration of the mGluR2/3 agonist LY379268 or the antagonist LY341495 prior to a testing session. RESULTS Exposure to CIE resulted in reductions in discrimination between cue-on and cue-off intervals, with CIE-exposed mice exhibiting significantly lower consummatory behavior during reward-paired cues than air controls. In addition, systemic administration of an mGluR2/3 agonist restored the use of reward-paired cues in CIE-exposed animals without impacting behavior in air controls. Conversely, administration of an mGluR2/3 antagonist mimicked the effects of CIE on cue-guided licking behavior, indicating that mGluR2/3 signaling can bidirectionally regulate the ability to use reward-paired cues to guide behavior. CONCLUSIONS Together, these data suggest that chronic ethanol exposure drives impairments in the ability to use reward-paired cues to adaptively regulate behavior and that mGluR2/3 receptors represent a therapeutic target for restoration of these deficits in behavioral control in the alcoholic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline M Barker
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
| | - Daniel H Lench
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA
| | - L Judson Chandler
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, 29425, USA.
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Hendershot CS, Claus ED, Ramchandani VA. Associations of OPRM1 A118G and alcohol sensitivity with intravenous alcohol self-administration in young adults. Addict Biol 2016; 21:125-35. [PMID: 25039301 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Human laboratory and animal models implicate variation in the μ-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1) as relevant for alcohol-related reward. OPRM1 is associated with alcohol self-administration in non-human primate studies, but the relevance of this finding to human models is unclear. This study used computer-assisted self-infusion of ethanol (CASE) to examine associations among OPRM1 A118G genotype, subjective responses to alcohol and intravenous alcohol self-administration in young heavy drinkers (n = 40, mean age = 19.95 years, SD = 0.82). Participants completed a 2-hour CASE session comprising a priming phase followed by ad libitum self-administration in a free-access paradigm. Participants achieved a mean peak breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) of 81.18 mg% (SD = 24.96). Those with the OPRM1 118G variant (GA or GG genotypes) achieved significantly higher peak BrAC (M = 94.90 mg%, SD = 16.56) than those with the AA genotype (M = 74.46 mg%, SD = 25.36), reflecting a significantly greater number of alcohol requests among GA/GG participants. Eighty percent of GA/GG participants surpassed a threshold defining a laboratory analog of heavy alcohol exposure (80 mg%) compared with 46 percent of AA participants. Results indicated significant associations between subjective measures of alcohol sensitivity and CASE outcomes, although the pattern of findings differed across self-report measures. Subjective responses did not differ by OPRM1 status. These results offer further support for the feasibility of the CASE paradigm and provide initial evidence for an association of OPRM1 with alcohol self-administration in a human laboratory context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christian S. Hendershot
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute; Centre for Addiction and Mental Health; Canada
- Department of Psychiatry; University of Toronto; Canada
| | - Eric D. Claus
- The Mind Research Network and Lovelace Biomedical and Environmental Research Institute; Albuquerque NM USA
| | - Vijay A. Ramchandani
- Section on Human Psychopharmacology; Laboratory of Clinical and Translational Studies; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; National Institutes of Health; Bethesda MD USA
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Cortese BM, Uhde TW, Brady KT, McClernon FJ, Yang QX, Collins HR, LeMatty T, Hartwell KJ. The fMRI BOLD response to unisensory and multisensory smoking cues in nicotine-dependent adults. Psychiatry Res 2015; 234:321-7. [PMID: 26475784 PMCID: PMC4679531 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2015.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2015] [Revised: 09/11/2015] [Accepted: 10/01/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Given that the vast majority of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of drug cue reactivity use unisensory visual cues, but that multisensory cues may elicit greater craving-related brain responses, the current study sought to compare the fMRI BOLD response to unisensory visual and multisensory, visual plus odor, smoking cues in 17 nicotine-dependent adult cigarette smokers. Brain activation to smoking-related, compared to neutral, pictures was assessed under cigarette smoke and odorless odor conditions. While smoking pictures elicited a pattern of activation consistent with the addiction literature, the multisensory (odor+picture) smoking cues elicited significantly greater and more widespread activation in mainly frontal and temporal regions. BOLD signal elicited by the multisensory, but not unisensory cues, was significantly related to participants' level of control over craving as well. Results demonstrated that the co-presentation of cigarette smoke odor with smoking-related visual cues, compared to the visual cues alone, elicited greater levels of craving-related brain activation in key regions implicated in reward. These preliminary findings support future research aimed at a better understanding of multisensory integration of drug cues and craving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernadette M. Cortese
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, MSC 861, Charleston, SC 29425, USA,Corresponding author. (B.M. Cortese)
| | - Thomas W. Uhde
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, MSC 861, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Kathleen T. Brady
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, MSC 861, Charleston, SC 29425, USA,Ralph H. Johnson VAMC, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - F. Joseph McClernon
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Qing X. Yang
- Center for NMR Research, Department of Radiology and Neurosurgery, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA, USA
| | - Heather R. Collins
- Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Todd LeMatty
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, MSC 861, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
| | - Karen J. Hartwell
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, MSC 861, Charleston, SC 29425, USA,Ralph H. Johnson VAMC, Charleston, SC, USA
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Linsenbardt DN, Lapish CC. Neural Firing in the Prefrontal Cortex During Alcohol Intake in Alcohol-Preferring "P" Versus Wistar Rats. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2015; 39:1642-53. [PMID: 26250465 DOI: 10.1111/acer.12804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2015] [Accepted: 06/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neural activity within the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is altered by alcohol and alcohol-associated stimuli and is mediated by genetic susceptibility to alcoholism. However, very little is known about how genetic risk of excessive drinking might mediate neural firing in the PFC during alcohol consumption. METHODS To determine how genetic risk influences alcohol seeking, intake, and neural activity, a Pavlovian alcohol consumption task was used-the 2-Way Cued Access Protocol (2CAP). Alcohol-preferring "P" rats and relatives of their (heterogeneous) founding Wistar population were used for these studies. After acquisition of 2CAP, extinction of responding for alcohol was evaluated by substituting water for alcohol. Following these experiments, in vivo electrophysiological recordings were obtained during 2CAP from the PFC in a separate cohort of Wistar and P rats implanted with moveable tetrode microdrives. RESULTS P and Wistar rats increased daily alcohol seeking and intake with P rats consuming roughly twice as much alcohol as Wistar. Both rat populations decreased seeking behavior during extinction. However, P rats displayed persistent increases in seeking after controlling for intake versus Wistar. Higher firing rates (FRs) were observed in P rats prior to 2CAP and throughout alcohol and water consumption compared with Wistars that were matched for alcohol-drinking history. Differences in FR were driven, in part, by a larger percentage of neurons in P rats versus Wistars that increased FR compared with those that decreased, or did not change. CONCLUSIONS These data provide additional evidence of increased alcohol consumption and persistent alcohol seeking in P versus Wistar rats. Differences in PFC neural firing observed in P rats prior to drinking could be heritable and/or related to an enhanced response to alcohol-associated contextual cues. FR differences observed during alcohol drinking might be related to an augmented sensitivity of PFC neurons to orally consumed alcohol.
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Affiliation(s)
- David N Linsenbardt
- Addiction Neuroscience, Department of Psychology and Indiana Alcohol Research Center, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Christopher C Lapish
- Addiction Neuroscience, Department of Psychology and Indiana Alcohol Research Center, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana
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Eiler WJ, Džemidžić M, Case KR, Soeurt CM, Armstrong CL, Mattes RD, O'Connor SJ, Harezlak J, Acton AJ, Considine RV, Kareken DA. The apéritif effect: Alcohol's effects on the brain's response to food aromas in women. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2015; 23:1386-93. [PMID: 26110891 PMCID: PMC4493764 DOI: 10.1002/oby.21109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2014] [Revised: 03/03/2015] [Accepted: 03/10/2015] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Consuming alcohol prior to a meal (an apéritif) increases food consumption. This greater food consumption may result from increased activity in brain regions that mediate reward and regulate feeding behavior. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we evaluated the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response to the food aromas of either roast beef or Italian meat sauce following pharmacokinetically controlled intravenous infusion of alcohol. METHODS BOLD activation to food aromas in non-obese women (n = 35) was evaluated once during intravenous infusion of 6% v/v EtOH, clamped at a steady-state breath alcohol concentration of 50 mg%, and once during infusion of saline using matching pump rates. Ad libitum intake of roast beef with noodles or Italian meat sauce with pasta following imaging was recorded. RESULTS BOLD activation to food relative to non-food odors in the hypothalamic area was increased during alcohol pre-load when compared to saline. Food consumption was significantly greater, and levels of ghrelin were reduced, following alcohol. CONCLUSIONS An alcohol pre-load increased food consumption and potentiated differences between food and non-food BOLD responses in the region of the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus may mediate the interplay of alcohol and responses to food cues, thus playing a role in the apéritif phenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- William J.A. Eiler
- Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - Mario Džemidžić
- Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
- Department of Radiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - K. Rose Case
- Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - Christina M. Soeurt
- Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | | | - Richard D. Mattes
- Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA
| | - Sean J. O'Connor
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - Jaroslaw Harezlak
- Department of Biostatistics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - Anthony J. Acton
- Department of Medicine (Endocrinology), Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - Robert V. Considine
- Department of Medicine (Endocrinology), Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - David A. Kareken
- Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
- Department of Radiology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
- Corresponding Author: David A. Kareken, Ph.D. Neuropsychology Section (GH 4700) Department of Neurology Indiana University School of Medicine 355 West 16 Street Indianapolis, IN 46202 (317) 963-7212
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McCane AM, Czachowski CL, Lapish CC. Tolcapone suppresses ethanol intake in alcohol-preferring rats performing a novel cued access protocol. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2015; 38:2468-78. [PMID: 25257296 DOI: 10.1111/acer.12515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2013] [Accepted: 06/30/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dopamine (DA) has been shown to play a central role in regulating motivated behavior and encoding reward. Chronic drug abuse elicits a state of hypodopaminergia in the mesocorticolimbic (MCL) system in both humans and preclinical rodent models of addiction, including those modeling alcohol use disorders (AUD). METHODS Working under the hypothesis that reductions in the bioavailability of DA play an integral role in the expression of the excessive drinking phenotype, the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibitor tolcapone was used as a means to amplify cortical DA concentration and drinking behaviors were then assessed. Sucrose and ethanol (EtOH) consumption were measured in P and Wistar rats in both a free choice drinking protocol and a novel cued access protocol. RESULTS Tolcapone attenuated the consumption of EtOH, and to a lesser extent sucrose, in P rats in the cued access protocol, while no effect was observed in the free choice drinking protocol. Tolcapone also decreased EtOH consumption in high drinking Wistar rats. A follow-up experiment using the indirect DA agonist d-amphetamine showed no change in EtOH consumption. CONCLUSIONS Collectively, these data suggest that COMT inhibitors may be capable of alleviating the extremely motivating or salient nature of stimuli associated with alcohol. The hypothesis is put forth that the relative specificity of tolcapone for cortical DA systems may mediate the suppression of the high seeking/drinking phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aqilah M McCane
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana
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35
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Oberlin BG, Dzemidzic M, Tran SM, Soeurt CM, O’Connor SJ, Yoder KK, Kareken DA. Beer self-administration provokes lateralized nucleus accumbens dopamine release in male heavy drinkers. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2015; 232:861-70. [PMID: 25163422 PMCID: PMC4326548 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-014-3720-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2014] [Accepted: 08/11/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Although striatal dopamine (DA) is important in alcohol abuse, the nature of DA release during actual alcohol drinking is unclear, since drinking includes self-administration of both conditioned flavor stimuli (CS) of the alcoholic beverage and subsequent intoxication, the unconditioned stimulus (US). OBJECTIVES Here, we used a novel self-administration analog to distinguish nucleus accumbens (NAcc) DA responses specific to the CS and US. METHODS Right-handed male heavy drinkers (n = 26) received three positron emission tomography (PET) scans with the D2/D3 radioligand [(11)C]raclopride (RAC) and performed a pseudo self-administration task that separately administered a flavor CS of either a habitually consumed beer or the appetitive control Gatorade®, concomitant with the US of ethanol intoxication (0.06 g/dL intravenous (IV) administration) or IV saline. Scan conditions were Gatorade flavor + saline (Gat&Sal), Gatorade flavor + ethanol (Gat&Eth), and beer flavor + ethanol (Beer&Eth). RESULTS Ethanol (US) reduced RAC binding (inferring DA release) in the left (L) NAcc [Gat&Sal > Gat&Eth]. Beer flavor (CS) increased DA in the right (R) NAcc [Gat&Eth > Beer&Eth]. The combination of beer flavor and ethanol (CS + US), [Gat&Sal > Beer&Eth], induced DA release in bilateral NAcc. Self-reported intoxication during scanning correlated with L NAcc DA release. Relative to saline, infusion of ethanol increased alcoholic drink wanting. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest lateralized DA function in the NAcc, with L NAcc DA release most reflecting intoxication, R NAcc DA release most reflecting the flavor CS, and the conjoint CS + US producing a bilateral NAcc response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon Gregg Oberlin
- Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSOM), Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Mario Dzemidzic
- Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSOM), Indianapolis, Indiana,Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Center for Neuroimaging, IUSOM
| | - Stella Maria Tran
- Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSOM), Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Christina Marie Soeurt
- Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSOM), Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Sean Joseph O’Connor
- Department of Psychiatry, IUSOM,Roudebush Veterans Administration Medical Center, Indianapolis, Indiana
| | - Karmen Kay Yoder
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Center for Neuroimaging, IUSOM,Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, IUSOM,Department of Psychology, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
| | - David Alexander Kareken
- Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSOM), Indianapolis, Indiana,Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Center for Neuroimaging, IUSOM,Department of Psychiatry, IUSOM,Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, IUSOM
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Petit G, Kornreich C, Dan B, Verbanck P, Campanella S. Electrophysiological correlates of alcohol- and non-alcohol-related stimuli processing in binge drinkers: a follow-up study. J Psychopharmacol 2014; 28:1041-52. [PMID: 25122045 DOI: 10.1177/0269881114545663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The continuation of binge drinking is associated with the development of neurocognitive brain abnormalities similar to those observed in patients with alcohol dependence. Alcohol cue reactivity constitutes a risk marker for alcohol dependence. Through event-related potentials (ERPs), we aimed to examine its potential presence as well as its evolution over time in binge drinkers in a one-year period. METHODS ERPs were recorded during a visual oddball task in which controls (n=15) and binge drinkers (n=15) had to detect infrequent deviant stimuli (related or unrelated to alcohol) among frequent standard stimuli. The test was performed twice with a one-year interval in order to explore the long-lasting influence of drinking habits. RESULTS Contrary to the controls, binge drinkers showed significantly reduced amplitudes of the P1 component for both alcohol and non-alcohol-related cues and of the P3 component only for neutral cues in the second assessment compared with the first. CONCLUSION The continuation of binge drinking over one year is associated with the development of brain functional abnormalities (indexed by the P1 component) as well as a higher reactivity to alcohol-related stimuli and/or a decreased reactivity to non-alcohol-related stimuli (indexed by the P3 component).
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Affiliation(s)
- Géraldine Petit
- Laboratory of Psychological Medicine and Addictology, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Charles Kornreich
- Laboratory of Psychological Medicine and Addictology, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Bernard Dan
- Laboratory of Psychological Medicine and Addictology, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Paul Verbanck
- Laboratory of Psychological Medicine and Addictology, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Salvatore Campanella
- Laboratory of Psychological Medicine and Addictology, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
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Leyton M, Vezina P. Dopamine ups and downs in vulnerability to addictions: a neurodevelopmental model. Trends Pharmacol Sci 2014; 35:268-76. [PMID: 24794705 PMCID: PMC4041845 DOI: 10.1016/j.tips.2014.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2013] [Revised: 03/17/2014] [Accepted: 04/03/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Addictions are commonly presaged by problems in childhood and adolescence. For many individuals this starts with the early expression of impulsive risk-taking, social gregariousness, and oppositional behaviors. Here we propose that these early diverse manifestations reflect a heightened ability of emotionally salient stimuli to activate dopamine pathways that foster behavioral approach. If substance use is initiated, these at-risk youth can also develop heightened responses to drug-paired cues. Through conditioning and drug-induced sensitization, these effects strengthen and accumulate, leading to responses that exceed those elicited by other rewards. At the same time, cues not paired with drug become associated with comparatively lower dopamine release, accentuating further the difference between drug and non-drug rewards. Together, these enhancing and inhibiting processes steer a pre-existing vulnerability toward a disproportionate concern for drugs and drug-related stimuli. Implications for prevention and treatment are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Leyton
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
| | - Paul Vezina
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Committee on Neurobiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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Eiler WJA, Dzemidzic M, Case KR, Armstrong CLH, Mattes RD, Cyders MA, Considine RV, Kareken DA. Ventral frontal satiation-mediated responses to food aromas in obese and normal-weight women. Am J Clin Nutr 2014; 99:1309-18. [PMID: 24695888 PMCID: PMC4021781 DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.113.080788] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sensory properties of foods promote and guide consumption in hunger states, whereas satiation should dampen the sensory activation of ingestive behaviors. Such activation may be disordered in obese individuals. OBJECTIVE Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we studied regional brain responses to food odor stimulation in the sated state in obese and normal-weight individuals targeting ventral frontal regions known to be involved in coding for stimulus reward value. DESIGN Forty-eight women (25 normal weight; 23 obese) participated in a 2-day (fed compared with fasting) fMRI study while smelling odors of 2 foods and an inedible, nonfood object. Analyses were conducted to permit an examination of both general and sensory-specific satiation (satiation effects specific to a given food). RESULTS Normal-weight subjects showed significant blood oxygen level-dependent responses in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) to food aromas compared with responses induced by the odor of an inedible object. Normal-weight subjects also showed general (but not sensory-specific) satiation effects in both the vmPFC and orbitofrontal cortex. Obese subjects showed no differential response to the aromas of food and the inedible object when fasting. Within- and between-group differences in satiation were driven largely by changes in the response to the odor of the inedible stimulus. Responses to food aromas in the obese correlated with trait negative urgency, the tendency toward negative affect-provoked impulsivity. CONCLUSIONS Ventral frontal signaling of reward value may be disordered in obesity, with negative urgency heightening responses to food aromas. The observed nature of responses to food and nonfood stimuli suggests that future research should independently quantify each to fully understand brain reward signaling in obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- William J A Eiler
- From the Departments of Neurology (WJAE, MD, KRC, and DAK), Radiology (MD and DAK), Medicine (RVC) (Endocrinology), and Psychiatry (DAK), Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN; the Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (CLHA and RDM); and the Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN (MAC)
| | - Mario Dzemidzic
- From the Departments of Neurology (WJAE, MD, KRC, and DAK), Radiology (MD and DAK), Medicine (RVC) (Endocrinology), and Psychiatry (DAK), Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN; the Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (CLHA and RDM); and the Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN (MAC)
| | - K Rose Case
- From the Departments of Neurology (WJAE, MD, KRC, and DAK), Radiology (MD and DAK), Medicine (RVC) (Endocrinology), and Psychiatry (DAK), Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN; the Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (CLHA and RDM); and the Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN (MAC)
| | - Cheryl L H Armstrong
- From the Departments of Neurology (WJAE, MD, KRC, and DAK), Radiology (MD and DAK), Medicine (RVC) (Endocrinology), and Psychiatry (DAK), Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN; the Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (CLHA and RDM); and the Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN (MAC)
| | - Richard D Mattes
- From the Departments of Neurology (WJAE, MD, KRC, and DAK), Radiology (MD and DAK), Medicine (RVC) (Endocrinology), and Psychiatry (DAK), Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN; the Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (CLHA and RDM); and the Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN (MAC)
| | - Melissa A Cyders
- From the Departments of Neurology (WJAE, MD, KRC, and DAK), Radiology (MD and DAK), Medicine (RVC) (Endocrinology), and Psychiatry (DAK), Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN; the Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (CLHA and RDM); and the Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN (MAC)
| | - Robert V Considine
- From the Departments of Neurology (WJAE, MD, KRC, and DAK), Radiology (MD and DAK), Medicine (RVC) (Endocrinology), and Psychiatry (DAK), Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN; the Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (CLHA and RDM); and the Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN (MAC)
| | - David A Kareken
- From the Departments of Neurology (WJAE, MD, KRC, and DAK), Radiology (MD and DAK), Medicine (RVC) (Endocrinology), and Psychiatry (DAK), Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN; the Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (CLHA and RDM); and the Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN (MAC)
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Cheetham A, Allen NB, Whittle S, Simmons J, Yücel M, Lubman DI. Volumetric differences in the anterior cingulate cortex prospectively predict alcohol-related problems in adolescence. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2014; 231:1731-42. [PMID: 24553579 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-014-3483-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2013] [Accepted: 02/03/2014] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Individual differences in brain structure and function are suggested to exist prior to the onset of alcohol abuse. Cross-sectional studies have demonstrated abnormalities in brain regions underlying affective processes that may form a pathway to the emergence of later alcohol abuse and dependence in vulnerable individuals. However, no prospective studies have examined whether these abnormalities predict later problems with alcohol. OBJECTIVE This study aims to examine whether individual differences in affect and brain volume prospectively predict alcohol-related problems in adolescence. METHOD Adolescent drinkers (n = 98) were recruited from an ongoing prospective, longitudinal study examining adolescent emotional development. At age 12, participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging to obtain volumetric data on the amygdala, hippocampus, orbitofrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and completed a self-report measure of affective temperament. At age 16, participants completed a questionnaire measuring alcohol use, with 39 % reporting alcohol-related problems in the past year. RESULTS Pre-existing differences in the left ACC predicted problem drinking. Alcohol-related problems were associated with higher levels of temperamental negative affectivity; however, these were not correlated with anterior cingulate volumes. CONCLUSIONS These findings indicate that individual differences in the structural morphology of the anterior cingulate, a region implicated in affective processes, self-control, and drug addiction, predict later alcohol-related problems. Although this finding remained significant after controlling for other substance use and psychopathology, future research is required to test its specificity for alcohol use disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Cheetham
- Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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Wetherill L, Kapoor M, Agrawal A, Bucholz K, Koller D, Bertelsen SE, Le N, Wang JC, Almasy L, Hesselbrock V, Kramer J, Nurnberger JI, Schuckit M, Tischfield JA, Xuei X, Porjesz B, Edenberg HJ, Goate AM, Foroud T. Family-based association analysis of alcohol dependence criteria and severity. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2014; 38:354-66. [PMID: 24015780 PMCID: PMC3946798 DOI: 10.1111/acer.12251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2012] [Accepted: 07/08/2013] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite the high heritability of alcohol dependence (AD), the genes found to be associated with it account for only a small proportion of its total variability. The goal of this study was to identify and analyze phenotypes based on homogeneous classes of individuals to increase the power to detect genetic risk factors contributing to the risk of AD. METHODS The 7 individual DSM-IV criteria for AD were analyzed using latent class analysis (LCA) to identify classes defined by the pattern of endorsement of the criteria. A genome-wide association study was performed in 118 extended European American families (n = 2,322 individuals) densely affected with AD to identify genes associated with AD, with each of the 7 DSM-IV criteria, and with the probability of belonging to 2 of 3 latent classes. RESULTS Heritability for DSM-IV AD was 61% and ranged from 17 to 60% for the other phenotypes. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the olfactory receptor OR51L1 was significantly associated (7.3 × 10(-8) ) with the DSM-IV criterion of persistent desire to, or inability to, cut down on drinking. LCA revealed a 3-class model: the "low-risk" class (50%) rarely endorsed any criteria and none met criteria for AD; the "moderate-risk" class (33%) endorsed primarily 4 DSM-IV criteria and 48% met criteria for AD; and the "high-risk" class (17%) manifested high endorsement probabilities for most criteria and nearly all (99%) met criteria for AD. One SNP in a sodium leak channel NALCN demonstrated genome-wide significance with the high-risk class (p = 4.1 × 10(-8) ). Analyses in an independent sample did not replicate these associations. CONCLUSIONS We explored the genetic contribution to several phenotypes derived from the DSM-IV AD criteria. The strongest evidence of association was with SNPs in NALCN and OR51L1.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Nhung Le
- Washington University School of Medicine
| | | | | | | | - John Kramer
- University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine
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Petit G, Cimochowska A, Kornreich C, Hanak C, Verbanck P, Campanella S. Neurophysiological correlates of response inhibition predict relapse in detoxified alcoholic patients: some preliminary evidence from event-related potentials. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2014; 10:1025-37. [PMID: 24966675 PMCID: PMC4062548 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s61475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alcohol dependence is a chronic relapsing disease. The impairment of response inhibition and alcohol-cue reactivity are the main cognitive mechanisms that trigger relapse. Despite the interaction suggested between the two processes, they have long been investigated as two different lines of research. The present study aimed to investigate the interaction between response inhibition and alcohol-cue reactivity and their potential link with relapse. MATERIALS AND METHODS Event-related potentials were recorded during a variant of a "go/no-go" task. Frequent and rare stimuli (to be inhibited) were superimposed on neutral, nonalcohol-related, and alcohol-related contexts. The task was administered following a 3-week detoxification course. Relapse outcome was measured after 3 months, using self-reported abstinence. There were 27 controls (seven females) and 27 patients (seven females), among whom 13 relapsed during the 3-month follow-up period. The no-go N2, no-go P3, and the "difference" wave (P3d) were examined with the aim of linking neural correlates of response inhibition on alcohol-related contexts to the observed relapse rate. RESULTS Results showed that 1) at the behavioral level, alcohol-dependent patients made significantly more commission errors than controls (P<0.001), independently of context; 2) through the subtraction no-go P3 minus go P3, this inhibition deficit was neurophysiologically indexed in patients with greater P3d amplitudes (P=0.034); and 3) within the patient group, increased P3d amplitude enabled us to differentiate between future relapsers and nonrelapsers (P=0.026). CONCLUSION Our findings suggest that recently detoxified alcoholics are characterized by poorer response-inhibition skills that demand greater neural resources. We propose that event-related potentials can be used in conjunction with behavioral data to predict relapse; this would identify patients that need a higher level of neural resources when suppressing a response is requested.
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Affiliation(s)
- Géraldine Petit
- Laboratory of Psychological Medicine and Addictology, ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Agnieszka Cimochowska
- Laboratory of Psychological Medicine and Addictology, ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Charles Kornreich
- Laboratory of Psychological Medicine and Addictology, ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Catherine Hanak
- Laboratory of Psychological Medicine and Addictology, ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Paul Verbanck
- Laboratory of Psychological Medicine and Addictology, ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
| | - Salvatore Campanella
- Laboratory of Psychological Medicine and Addictology, ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium
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Leyton M, Vezina P. Striatal ups and downs: their roles in vulnerability to addictions in humans. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2013; 37:1999-2014. [PMID: 23333263 PMCID: PMC3743927 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2013.01.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2012] [Revised: 01/03/2013] [Accepted: 01/07/2013] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Susceptibility to addictive behaviors has been related to both increases and decreases in striatal function. Both profiles have been reported in humans as well as in animal models. Yet, the mechanisms underlying these opposing effects and the manner in which they relate to the behavioral development and expression of addiction remain unclear. In the present review of human studies, we describe a number of factors that could influence whether striatal hyper- or hypo-function is observed and propose a model that integrates the influence of these opposite responses on the expression of addiction related behaviors. Central to this model is the role played by the presence versus absence of addiction related cues and their ability to regulate responding to abused drugs and other rewards. Striatal function and incentive motivational states are increased in the presence of these cues and decreased in their absence. Alternations between these states might account for the progressive narrowing of interests as addictions develop and point to relevant processes to target in treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Leyton
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, 1033 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1A1 Canada.
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Cyders MA, Dzemidzic M, Eiler WJ, Coskunpinar A, Karyadi K, Kareken DA. Negative urgency and ventromedial prefrontal cortex responses to alcohol cues: FMRI evidence of emotion-based impulsivity. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2013; 38:409-17. [PMID: 24164291 DOI: 10.1111/acer.12266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2013] [Accepted: 07/11/2013] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent research has highlighted the role of emotion-based impulsivity (negative and positive urgency personality traits) for alcohol use and abuse, but has yet to examine how these personality traits interact with the brain's motivational systems. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we tested whether urgency traits and mood induction affected medial prefrontal responses to alcohol odors (AcO). METHODS Twenty-seven social drinkers (mean age = 25.2, 14 males) had 6 fMRI scans while viewing negative, neutral, or positive mood images (3 mood conditions) during intermittent exposure to AcO and appetitive control (AppCo) aromas. RESULTS Voxel-wise analyses (p < 0.001) confirmed [AcO > AppCo] activation throughout medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and ventromedial PFC (vmPFC) regions. Extracted from a priori mPFC and vmPFC regions and analyzed in Odor (AcO, AppCo) × Mood factorial models, AcO activation was greater than AppCo in left vmPFC (p < 0.001), left mPFC (p = 0.002), and right vmPFC (p = 0.01) regions. Mood did not interact significantly with activation, but the covariate of trait negative urgency accounted for significant variance in left vmPFC (p = 0.01) and right vmPFC (p = 0.01) [AcO > AppCo] activation. Negative urgency also mediated the relationship between vmPFC activation and both (i) subjective craving and (ii) problematic drinking. CONCLUSIONS The trait of negative urgency is associated with neural responses to alcohol cues in the vmPFC, a region involved in reward value and emotion-guided decision-making. This suggests that negative urgency might alter subjective craving and brain regions involved in coding reward value.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa A Cyders
- Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana
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Oberlin BG, Dzemidzic M, Tran SM, Soeurt CM, Albrecht DS, Yoder KK, Kareken DA. Beer flavor provokes striatal dopamine release in male drinkers: mediation by family history of alcoholism. Neuropsychopharmacology 2013; 38:1617-24. [PMID: 23588036 PMCID: PMC3717546 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2013.91] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2013] [Revised: 04/08/2013] [Accepted: 04/09/2013] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Striatal dopamine (DA) is increased by virtually all drugs of abuse, including alcohol. However, drug-associated cues are also known to provoke striatal DA transmission- a phenomenon linked to the motivated behaviors associated with addiction. To our knowledge, no one has tested if alcohol's classically conditioned flavor cues, in the absence of a significant pharmacologic effect, are capable of eliciting striatal DA release in humans. Employing positron emission tomography (PET), we hypothesized that beer's flavor alone can reduce the binding potential (BP) of [(11)C]raclopride (RAC; a reflection of striatal DA release) in the ventral striatum, relative to an appetitive flavor control. Forty-nine men, ranging from social to heavy drinking, mean age 25, with a varied family history of alcoholism underwent two [(11)C]RAC PET scans: one while tasting beer, and one while tasting Gatorade. Relative to the control flavor of Gatorade, beer flavor significantly increased self-reported desire to drink, and reduced [(11)C]RAC BP, indicating that the alcohol-associated flavor cues induced DA release. BP reductions were strongest in subjects with first-degree alcoholic relatives. These results demonstrate that alcohol-conditioned flavor cues can provoke ventral striatal DA release, absent significant pharmacologic effects, and that the response is strongest in subjects with a greater genetic risk for alcoholism. Striatal DA responses to salient alcohol cues may thus be an inherited risk factor for alcoholism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon G Oberlin
- Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Mario Dzemidzic
- Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA,Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Center for Neuroimaging, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - Stella M Tran
- Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Christina M Soeurt
- Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Daniel S Albrecht
- Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - Karmen K Yoder
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Center for Neuroimaging, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA,Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
| | - David A Kareken
- Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA,Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Center for Neuroimaging, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA,Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA,Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA,Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, 355 W 16th Street, Suite 4700, Indianapolis, IN 46202, Indiana, Tel: +1 317 963 7204, Fax: +1 317 963 7211, E-mail:
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Kareken DA, Dzemidzic M, Oberlin BG, Eiler WJA. A preliminary study of the human brain response to oral sucrose and its association with recent drinking. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2013; 37:2058-65. [PMID: 23841808 DOI: 10.1111/acer.12194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2013] [Accepted: 04/22/2013] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND A preference for sweet tastes has been repeatedly shown to be associated with alcohol preference in both animals and humans. In this study, we tested the extent to which recent drinking is related to blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) activation from an intensely sweet solution in orbitofrontal areas known to respond to primary rewards. METHODS Sixteen right-handed, non-treatment-seeking, healthy volunteers (mean age: 26 years; 75% male) were recruited from the community. All underwent a taste test using a range of sucrose concentrations, as well as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during pseudorandom, event-driven stimulation with water and a 0.83 M concentration of sucrose in water. RESULTS [Sucrose > water] provoked a significant BOLD activation in primary gustatory cortex and amygdala, as well as in the right ventral striatum and in bilateral orbitofrontal cortex. Drinks/drinking day correlated significantly with the activation as extracted from the left orbital area (r = 0.52, p = 0.04 after correcting for a bilateral comparison). Using stepwise multiple regression, the addition of rated sucrose liking accounted for significantly more variance in drinks/drinking day than did left orbital activation alone (multiple R = 0.79, p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS Both the orbitofrontal response to an intensely sweet taste and rated liking of that taste accounted for significant variance in drinking behavior. The brain response to sweet tastes may be an important phenotype of alcoholism risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A Kareken
- Department of Neurology , Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana; Department of Psychiatry , Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana; Department of Radiology , Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana
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Family history of alcoholism interacts with alcohol to affect brain regions involved in behavioral inhibition. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2013; 228:335-45. [PMID: 23468100 PMCID: PMC3695053 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-013-3038-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2012] [Accepted: 02/12/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Impulsive behavior is associated with both alcohol use disorders and a family history of alcoholism (FHA). One operational definition of impulsive behavior is the stop-signal task (SST) which measures the time needed to stop a ballistic hand movement. OBJECTIVE Employ functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study right frontal responses to stop signals in heavy drinking subjects with and without FHA, and as a function of alcohol exposure. METHODS Twenty-two family history-positive (FHP; age = 22.7 years, SD = 1.9) and 18 family history-negative (FHN; age = 23.7, SD = 1.8) subjects performed the SST in fMRI in two randomized visits: once during intravenous infusion of alcohol, clamped at a steady-state breath alcohol (BrAC) concentration of 60 mg/dL, and once during infusion of placebo saline. An independent reference group (n = 13, age = 23.7, SD = 1.8) was used to identify a priori right prefrontal regions activated by successful inhibition (Inh) trials, relative to "Go" trials that carried no need for inhibition [Inh > Go]. RESULTS FHA interacted with alcohol exposure in right prefrontal cortex, where alcohol reduced [Inh > Go] activation in FHN subjects but not in FHP subjects. Within this right frontal cortical region, stop-signal reaction time also correlated negatively with [Inh > Go] activation, suggesting that the [Inh > Go] activity was related to inhibitory behavior. CONCLUSIONS The results are consistent with the low level of response theory (Schuckit, J Stud Alcohol 55:149-158, 1980; Quinn and Fromme, Alcohol Clin Exp Res 35:1759-1770, 2011), with FHP being less sensitive to alcohol's effects.
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Ubaldi M, Bifone A, Ciccocioppo R. Translational approach to develop novel medications on alcohol addiction: focus on neuropeptides. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2013; 23:684-91. [PMID: 23648086 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2013.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2013] [Revised: 04/09/2013] [Accepted: 04/11/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Research on alcohol and drug dependence has shown that the development of addiction depends on a complex interplay of psychological factors, genetic or epigenetic predisposing factors, and neurobiological adaptations induced by drug consumption. A greater understanding of the mechanisms leading to alcohol abuse will allow researchers to identify genetic variation that corresponds to a specific biological vulnerability to addiction, thus defining robust endophenotypes that might help deconstruct these complex syndromes into more tractable components. To this end, it is critical to develop a translational framework that links alterations at the molecular level, to changes in neuronal function, and ultimately to changes at the behavioral and clinical levels. Translational phenotypes can be identified by the combination of animal and human studies designed to elucidate the neurofunctional, anatomical and pharmacological mechanisms underlying the etiology of alcohol addiction. The present article offers an overview of medication development in alcoholism with a focus on the critical aspect of translational research. Moreover, significant examples of promising targets from neuropeptidergic systems, namely nociceptin/orphanin FQ and neuropeptide S are given.
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Affiliation(s)
- Massimo Ubaldi
- School of Pharmacy, Pharmacology Unit, University of Camerino, 62032, Camerino, Italy
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Dager AD, Anderson BM, Stevens MC, Pulido C, Rosen R, Jiantonio-Kelly RE, Sisante JF, Raskin SA, Tennen H, Austad CS, Wood RM, Fallahi CR, Pearlson GD. Influence of alcohol use and family history of alcoholism on neural response to alcohol cues in college drinkers. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2013; 37 Suppl 1:E161-71. [PMID: 23078363 PMCID: PMC3548054 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2012.01879.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2012] [Accepted: 05/08/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Heavy drinkers show altered functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) response to alcohol cues. Little is known about alcohol cue reactivity among college age drinkers, who show the greatest rates of alcohol use disorders. Family history of alcoholism (family history positive [FHP]) is a risk factor for problematic drinking, but the impact on alcohol cue reactivity is unclear. We investigated the influence of heavy drinking and family history of alcoholism on alcohol cue-related fMRI response among college students. METHODS Participants were 19 family history negative (FHN) light drinkers, 11 FHP light drinkers, 25 FHN heavy drinkers, and 10 FHP heavy drinkers, aged 18 to 21. During fMRI scanning, participants viewed alcohol images, nonalcohol beverage images, and degraded control images, with each beverage image presented twice. We characterized blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) contrast for alcohol versus nonalcohol images and examined BOLD response to repeated alcohol images to understand exposure effects. RESULTS Heavy drinkers exhibited greater BOLD response than light drinkers in posterior visual association regions, anterior cingulate, medial frontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, and dorsal striatum, and hyperactivation to repeated alcohol images in temporo-parietal, frontal, and insular regions (clusters > 8,127 μl, p < 0.05). FHP individuals showed increased activation to repeated alcohol images in temporo-parietal regions, fusiform, and hippocampus. There were no interactions between family history and drinking group. CONCLUSIONS Our results parallel findings of hyperactivation to alcohol cues among heavy drinkers in regions subserving visual attention, memory, motivation, and habit. Heavy drinkers demonstrated heightened activation to repeated alcohol images, which could influence continued drinking. Family history of alcoholism was associated with greater response to repeated alcohol images in regions underlying visual attention, recognition, and encoding, which could suggest aspects of alcohol cue reactivity that are independent of personal drinking. Heavy drinking and family history of alcoholism may have differential impacts on neural circuitry involved in cue reactivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alecia D Dager
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
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Schacht JP, Anton RF, Myrick H. Functional neuroimaging studies of alcohol cue reactivity: a quantitative meta-analysis and systematic review. Addict Biol 2013; 18:121-33. [PMID: 22574861 DOI: 10.1111/j.1369-1600.2012.00464.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 356] [Impact Index Per Article: 32.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
A comprehensive understanding of the neurobiology of alcohol cue reactivity is critical in identifying the neuropathology of alcohol use disorders (AUD) and developing treatments that may attenuate alcohol craving and reduce relapse risk. Functional neuroimaging studies have identified many brain areas in which alcohol cues elicit activation. However, extant studies have included relatively small numbers of cases, with AUD of varying severity, and have employed many different cue paradigms. We used activation likelihood estimation, a quantitative, coordinate-based meta-analytic method, to analyze the brain areas activated by alcohol-related cues across studies, and to examine whether these areas were differentially activated between cases and controls. Secondarily, we reviewed correlations between behavioral measures and cue-elicited activation, as well as treatment effects on such activation. Data analyzed were from 28 studies of 679 cases and 174 controls. Among cases, alcohol cues elicited robust activation of limbic and prefrontal regions, including ventral striatum, anterior cingulate and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. As compared to controls, cases demonstrated greater activation of parietal and temporal regions, including posterior cingulate, precuneus and superior temporal gyrus. Cue-elicited activation of ventral striatum was most frequently correlated with behavioral measures and most frequently reduced by treatment, but these results were often derived from region-of-interest analyses that interrogated only limbic regions. These findings support long-standing theories of mesolimbic involvement in alcohol cue processing, but suggest that cue-elicited activation of other brain areas may more clearly differentiate cases from controls. Prevention and treatment for AUD should consider interventions that may reduce cue-elicited activation of these areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph P Schacht
- Center for Drug and Alcohol Programs, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, 29425, USA.
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50
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Gozzi A, Agosta F, Massi M, Ciccocioppo R, Bifone A. Reduced limbic metabolism and fronto-cortical volume in rats vulnerable to alcohol addiction. Neuroimage 2012; 69:112-9. [PMID: 23261637 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2012] [Revised: 12/07/2012] [Accepted: 12/10/2012] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Alcohol abuse is associated with long-term reductions in fronto-cortical volume and limbic metabolism. However, an unanswered question in alcohol research is whether these alterations are the sole consequence of chronic alcohol use, or contain heritable contributions reflecting biological propensity toward ethanol addiction. Animal models of genetic predisposition to alcohol dependence can be used to investigate the role of inborn brain abnormalities in the aetiology of alcoholism. Here we used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the Marchigian-Sardinian (msP) alcohol-preferring rats to assess the presence of inherited structural or functional brain alterations. Alcohol-naïve msP (N=22) and control rats (N=26) were subjected to basal cerebral blood volume (bCBV) mapping followed by voxel-based morphometry (VBM) of grey matter and tract-based spatial statistics mapping of white matter fractional anisotropy. msP rats exhibited significantly reduced bCBV, an established marker of resting brain function, in focal cortico-limbic and thalamic areas, together with reduced grey matter volume in the thalamus, ventral tegmental area, insular and cingulate cortex. No statistically significant differences in fractional anisotropy were observed between groups. These findings highlight the presence of inborn grey matter and metabolic abnormalities in alcohol-naïve msP rats, the localization and sign of which are remarkably similar to those mapped in abstinent alcoholics and subjects at high risk for alcohol dependence. Collectively, these results point for a significant role of heritable neurofunctional brain alterations in biological propensity toward ethanol addiction, and support the translational use of advanced imaging methods to describe the circuital determinants of vulnerability to drug addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Gozzi
- Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Center for Nanotechnology Innovation, Pisa, & Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems at UniTn, Rovereto, Italy.
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