Preliminary Evidence for Disrupted Nucleus Accumbens Reactivity and Connectivity to Reward in Binge Drinkers.

Aims Dysfunctional brain reward circuitry, particularly in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), has been proposed as a risk factor for alcohol use disorder (AUD). This risk factor may be evident in binge drinkers (BD), who are at high risk for developing AUD. We examined whole-brain and NAcc reactivity to...

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Published in:Alcohol & Alcoholism. Supplement Vol. 52; no. 6; pp. 647 - 655
Main Authors: Crane, Natania A, Gorka, Stephanie M, Weafer, Jessica, Langenecker, Scott A, Wit, Harriet de, Phan, K. Luan
Format: diagnostic images research tables/charts Journal Article
Published: Oxford University Press / USA Nov2017
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Nov2017
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      pub: Oxford University Press / USA
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        10.1093/alcalc/agx062
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        atl: Preliminary Evidence for Disrupted Nucleus Accumbens Reactivity and Connectivity to Reward in Binge Drinkers.
      aug:
        au:
          Crane, Natania A
          Gorka, Stephanie M
          Weafer, Jessica
          Langenecker, Scott A
          Wit, Harriet de
          Phan, K. Luan
        affil: Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1747 W Roosevelt Rd Chicago, IL 60608, USA
      sug:
        subj:
          Binge Drinking Prevention and Control
          Reward
          Brain Physiology
          Neural Pathways
          Alcoholism Risk Factors
          Human
          Games
          Task Performance and Analysis
          Magnetic Resonance Imaging Methods
          Cerebral Cortex Physiology
          Diagnosis, Brain
      ab: Aims Dysfunctional brain reward circuitry, particularly in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), has been proposed as a risk factor for alcohol use disorder (AUD). This risk factor may be evident in binge drinkers (BD), who are at high risk for developing AUD. We examined whole-brain and NAcc reactivity to reward in BD compared to non-binge drinkers (NBD), hypothesizing that groups would differ in their neural reactivity and connectivity. Methods Healthy BD (N = 27) and NBD (N = 23)—none meeting AUD criteria—completed a reward-guessing game, the 'Doors' task, during functional magnetic resonance imaging. We conducted an exploratory whole-brain search for group differences, but given our a priori hypotheses, we also extracted activation from the NAcc to examine reactivity during reward (Win > Loss) and functional connectivity (FC) to the prefrontal cortex. Results Compared to NBD, BD exhibited greater activation in both the right and left NAcc during reward relative to loss. Additionally, NBD drinkers exhibited positive FC between the NAcc and dorsal anterior cingulate (dACC) whereas the BD showed negative FC between these regions. Furthermore, less NAcc–dACC FC was related to more past month alcohol use. Conclusions Our results provide preliminary evidence that BD exhibit greater NAcc activation during reward receipt relative to loss. This is consistent with the broader AUD literature and suggests aberrant neural reactivity may precede disorder onset. In addition, BD exhibited less NAcc–dACC FC, perhaps reflecting deficient regulation of activation to rewards compared to losses. This profile of reward brain circuitry could represent neural correlates of vulnerability for AUD. Short summary Healthy binge drinkers, at risk for alcohol use disorder, exhibited greater nucleus accumbens activation during reward relative to loss. In addition, binge drinkers exhibited reduced connectivity between the nucleus accumbens and dorsal anterior cingulate, which was associated with more past month alcohol use.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        diagnostic images
        research
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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