1. fMRI Differences Between Subjects with Low and High Responses to Alcohol During a Stop Signal Task.
- Author
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Schuckit, Marc A., Tapert, Susan, Matthews, Scott C., Paulus, Martin P., Tolentino, Neil J., Smith, Tom L., Trim, Ryan S., Hall, Shana, and Simmons, Alan
- Subjects
ALCOHOLISM ,ALCOHOLISM risk factors ,ANALYSIS of covariance ,ANALYSIS of variance ,BRAIN ,BREATH tests ,CHI-squared test ,ALCOHOL drinking ,ETHANOL ,MAGNETIC resonance imaging ,MATHEMATICAL models ,MATHEMATICAL statistics ,MULTIVARIATE analysis ,QUESTIONNAIRES ,RESEARCH funding ,RISK assessment ,STATISTICAL sampling ,SELF-evaluation ,STATISTICS ,PHENOTYPES ,MULTIPLE regression analysis ,PARAMETERS (Statistics) ,TASK performance ,DATA analysis software ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,GENETICS - Abstract
Background: A low level of response (i.e., a low LR) to alcohol is a genetically influenced phenotype that predicts later alcoholism. While the low LR reflects, at least in part, a low brain response to alcohol, the physiological underpinnings of the low LR have only recently been addressed. Methods: Forty-nine drinking but not yet alcoholic matched pairs of 18- to 25-year-old subjects ( N = 98; 53% women) with low and high LRs as established in separate alcohol challenges were evaluated in 2 event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sessions (placebo and approximately 0.7 ml/kg of alcohol) while performing a validated stop signal task. The high and low LR groups had identical blood alcohol levels during the alcohol session. Results: Significant high versus low LR group and LR group × condition effects were observed in blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal during error and inhibitory processing, despite similar LR group performance on the task. In most clusters with significant (corrected p < 0.05, clusters > 1,344 μl) LR group × alcohol/placebo condition interactions, the low LR group demonstrated relatively less, whereas the high LR group demonstrated more, error and inhibition-related activation after alcohol compared with placebo. Conclusions: This is one of the first fMRI studies to demonstrate significant differences between healthy groups with different risks of a future life-threatening disorder. The results may suggest a brain mechanism that contributes to how a low LR might enhance the risk of future heavy drinking and alcohol dependence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2012
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