Citation

Ahmadi A, Pearlson GD, Meda SA, Dager A, Potenza MN, Rosen R, Austad CS, Raskin SA, Fallahi CR, Tennen H, Wood RM, Stevens MC. Neuropsychopharmacology 2013; 38(11): 2197-2208.

Affiliation

Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Hartford Hospital/IOL, Hartford, CT.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1038/npp.2013.119

PMID

23670589

Abstract

Impaired inhibition of prepotent motor responding may represent an important risk factor for alcoholism. Alcohol use also may increase impulsive behaviors, including impaired response inhibition. Little is known about brain function underlying response inhibition among college-age drinkers based on their drinking patterns, despite college-age drinkers demonstrating high rates of alcohol use disorders. Our major objective was to compare behavior and associated brain activity measured with fMRI during a response-inhibition task in matched heavy- and light-alcohol-drinking college students. Participants were light (N=36) and heavy (N=56) drinkers, aged 18-20 years. We characterized blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses while participants performed an fMRI Go/No-Go task to quantify inhibitory behavior and brain activity. Behaviorally, group performance differences were observed for Go correct-hit and No-Go false-alarm reaction times with increased reaction times in heavy compared to light drinkers. During fMRI No-Go correct rejections, light drinkers exhibited greater BOLD response than did heavy drinkers in left supplementary motor area, bilateral parietal lobule, right hippocampus, bilateral middle frontal gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus and cingulate gyrus/ACC (BA24). Group differences in Go/No-Go-related regional activations correlated with alcohol-and impulsivity-related measures. These findings suggest that heavy alcohol drinkers may have dysfunction in brain regions underlying attention and response inhibition, leading to diminished abilities to suppress prepotent responding. The extent to which these tendencies relate to impulsive decision-making and behaviors in real-life settings and may guide intervention development warrants additional investigation.Neuropsychopharmacology accepted article preview online, 14 May 2013; doi:10.1038/npp.2013.119.

Language: en