Event-Related Oscillations in Alcoholism Research: A Review

Abstract

Alcohol dependence is characterized as a multi-factorial disorder caused by a complex interaction between genetic and environmental liabilities across development. A variety of neurocognitive deficits/dysfunctions involving impairments in different brain regions and/or neural circuitries have been associated with chronic alcoholism, as well as with a predisposition to develop alcoholism. Several neurobiological and neurobehavioral approaches and methods of analyses have been used to understand the nature of these neurocognitive impairments/deficits in alcoholism. In the present review, we have examined relatively novel methods of analyses of the brain signals that are collectively referred to as event-related oscillations (EROs) and show promise to further our understanding of human brain dynamics while performing various tasks. These new measures of dynamic brain processes have exquisite temporal resolution and allow the study of neural networks underlying responses to sensory and cognitive events, thus providing a closer link to the physiology underlying them. Here, we have reviewed EROs in the study of alcoholism, their usefulness in understanding dynamical brain functions/dysfunctions associated with alcoholism as well as their utility as effective endophenotypes to identify and understand genes associated with both brain oscillations and alcoholism.

Delta Event-Related Oscillations Are Related to a History of Extreme Binge Drinking in Adolescence and Lifetime Suicide Risk

“…A history of adolescent extreme binge drinking was also associated with decreases in connectivity in all three cortical areas in response to sad facial expressions, as indexed by local phase locking. There have been a few studies that have evaluated ERO energy in specific frequency bands in individuals with alcohol-associated pathology (see [ 36 , 38 , 39 , 55 , 56 , 58 , 59 , 120 ]. In two sets of studies, it was demonstrated that both alcoholics [ 66 , 120 ] and young offspring of alcoholics at high risk for alcohol use disorders [ 67 ], show decreases in delta oscillations to target stimuli during a visual oddball task.…”

“…Investigation of underlying biomarkers of risk may be helpful in understanding the impact of adolescent extreme binge drinking and concomitant negative health behaviors. Electrophysiological variables represent some of the most reliable and sensitive biomarkers of vulnerability to—or endophenotypes for—alcohol-related psychopathology (for extensive reviews see: [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ]). Reduced amplitude of the P300 or P3 component of the event-related potential (ERP) has perhaps received the most attention as a possible biomarker for AUD risk [ 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ].…”

“…Reduced amplitude of the P300 or P3 component of the event-related potential (ERP) has perhaps received the most attention as a possible biomarker for AUD risk [ 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ]. Several studies have recently applied time-frequency techniques, such as event-related oscillations (EROs), to ERP data in order to develop additional measures of alcohol-related psychopathology [ 36 , 38 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 ]. The application of ERO analyses can generate information on the amount of energy in different frequency sub-bands (such as delta, theta, alpha, and beta activity) that may contribute to the ERP waveform.…”

“…ERO energy measures, in different frequency sub-bands, have also been applied to the investigation of alcohol-related psychopathology [ 36 , 38 , 39 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 65 ]. For instance, it has been demonstrated that both alcoholics [ 66 ] and young offspring of alcoholics, who are at high risk for alcohol use disorders [ 67 ], show decreases in delta oscillations in response to target stimuli during a visual oddball task.…”

Decreased event-related theta power and phase-synchrony in young binge drinkers during target detection: An anatomically-constrained MEG approach

“…On a behavioral level, these results are in line with the attentional deficits observed in BDs (Lannoy et al, 2017) and in AUD individuals (Maurage et al, 2014;Muller-Oehring and Schulte, 2014;Oscar-Berman and Marinković, 2007;Tedstone and Coyle, 2004), suggesting that impaired attentional control might contribute to alcohol-related problems. Indeed, it has been well established that alcoholics manifest reduced ERT power during cognitive tasks (Campanella et al, 2009;Kamarajan and Porjesz, 2015;Pandey et al, 2012;Porjesz et al, 2005;Rangaswamy and Porjesz, 2014).…”