Large‐scale brain network activation during emotional inhibitory control: Associations with alcohol misuse in college freshmen

Abstract

Background The transition to college is associated with increased risk of alcohol misuse and a consequent increase in negative, alcohol‐related social and health impacts. Traits associated with ongoing brain maturation during this period, including impulsivity in emotional contexts, could contribute to risky alcohol use. Methods This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study examined brain network activation strength during an emotional inhibitory control task (Go‐NoGo), which required participants to ignore background images with negative or neutral emotional valence during performance. Participants were 60 college freshmen (aged 18–20 years, 33 women). Survey measures, completed at baseline and one‐year follow‐up (follow‐up n = 52, 29 women), assessed alcohol misuse alcohol use disorders identification test (AUDIT), alcohol/substance use counseling center assessment of psychological symptoms (C‐CAPS), and negative consequences of alcohol use young adult alcohol consequences questionnaire (YAACQ). Measures were examined relative to network activation strength, on the Negative NoGo > Neutral NoGo contrast, of four large‐scale brain networks implicated in top‐down regulation of cognition and attention: right and left lateral frontoparietal networks (rL‐FPN; lL‐FPN), dorsal attention network (DAN), and salience network (SN). Results Activation strength of DAN was negatively associated with scores on the AUDIT (p = 0.013) and YAACQ (p = 0.004) at baseline, and with C‐CAPS score at baseline and follow‐up (p = 0.002; p = 0.005), and positively associated with accuracy on NoGo trials with negative backgrounds (p = 0.014). Activation strength of rL‐FPN was positively associated with C‐CAPS score at follow‐up (p = 0.003). SN activation strength was negatively associated with accuracy on NoGo trials with negative (p < 0.001) and neutral (p = 0.002) backgrounds and with the accuracy difference between negative versus neutral NoGo trials (p = 0.003). Conclusion These findings suggest that less engagement of large‐scale brain circuitry that supports top‐down attentional control, specifically during negative emotions, is associated with more problematic drinking in emerging adults who attend college. This pattern of network activation may serve as a risk marker for ongoing self‐regulation deficits during negative emotion that could increase risk of problematic alcohol use and negative impacts of drinking.

The brain in social context: A systematic review of substance use and social processing from adolescence to young adulthood

“…Boys did not show an association between neural response to emotional stimuli and substance use. Cohen-Gilbert et al (2022) N = 60 M age = 18.9 (0.4) 55.5 % Female AUDIT, Counseling Center Assessment of Psychological Symptoms (C- CAPS), Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (YAACQ) Concurrent substance use & effects on neural function Alcohol Emotional Go/No-Go with emotional photos (International Affective Picture System) Negative NoGo > Neutral NoGo Lateral frontoparietal networks (rL- FPN; lL- FPN), dorsal attention network (DAN), salience network (SN) Alcohol use and negative consequences of drinking were negatively associated with DAN recruitment to negative Go trials. This pattern suggests that in young adults with more problematic drinking, negative emotional information interferes more with engagement of neural networks involved in top- down attentional control, compared to those with less alcohol misuse.…”

“…Thus, reduced activity during inhibition with emotionally-charged backgrounds might reflect a failure to regulate emotion, with implications for future self-regulation problems linked to drinking. In a separate study of 60 college freshmen, problematic drinking was linked to less neural recruitment of attention regions during negative emotion No-Go trials, and greater recruitment of frontoparietal regions ( Cohen-Gilbert et al, 2022 ). Other work on response inhibition in 30 adults (mean age 23 years) found that greater binge drinking was associated with reduced neural response in frontal and parietal regions during inhibition against background images of fearful faces ( Herman et al, 2019 ).…”

Trait anxiety and corresponding neuromarkers predict internet addiction: A longitudinal study

“…Similar results suggested that greater self-control of adolescents is associated with negative network coupling between the limbic and right fronto-parietal resting state networks ( Rubin et al., 2016 ). However, it has been proven that less involvement of the brain circuitry that supports top-down attentional control predicts more problematic drinking among college students ( Cohen-Gilbert et al., 2022 ). Thus, subjects showed higher levels of IA at a younger baseline time point.…”

Decreased modular segregation of the frontal–parietal network in major depressive disorder

“…We found MDD patients had significantly increased PC of the FPN and Cere compared with the HC group, suggesting lower intra-modular connections and higher intermodular connections in MDD. The FPN regulates the topdown process of emotion and attention (36). Previous studies frequently reported that atypical connectivity of the FPN was linked to MDD (31,37).…”