To drink or not to drink: Harmful drinking is associated with hyperactivation of reward areas rather than hypoactivation of control areas in men

Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience : JPN
Heiner StukeFelix Bermpohl

Abstract

The maintenance of harmful alcohol use can be considered a reiterated decision in favour of alcohol in concrete drinking occasions. These decisions are often made despite an intention to quit or reduce alcohol consumption. We tested if a hyperactive reward system and/or an impaired cognitive control system contribute to such unfavourable decision-making. In this fMRI study, men with modest to harmful drinking behaviour, which was measured using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), repeatedly made decisions between alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks. Based on prior individual ratings, decision pairs were created with an alcoholic decision option considered more desirable but less beneficial by the participant. By correlating AUDIT scores with brain activation during decision-making, we determined areas explicitly related to pro-alcohol decisions in men with greater drinking severity. Thirty-eight men participated in our study. Behaviourally, we found a positive correlation between AUDIT scores and the number of decisions for desired alcoholic drinks compared with beneficial nonalcoholic drinks. The fMRI results show that AUDIT scores were positively associated with activation in areas associated with reward and ...Continue Reading

Citations

May 16, 2019·Genes, Brain, and Behavior·Dongbing LaiTatiana Foroud
Nov 22, 2018·Frontiers in Psychiatry·Renaud de Beaurepaire
Feb 17, 2021·Der Nervenarzt·Andreas HeinzShuyan Liu

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