Problem Drinking, Alcohol Expectancy, and Thalamic Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Nondependent Adult Drinkers

Zhornitsky, Simon; Ide, Jaime S.; Wang, Wuyi; Chao, Herta H.; Zhang, Sheng; Hu, Sien; Krystal, John H.; Li, Chiang‐Shan R.

doi:10.1089/brain.2018.0633

Cited by 25 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 118 publications

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“…The important roles of the thalamus in alcohol dependence have been revealed by previous studies (Gilman, Smith, Ramchandani, Momenan, & Hommer, 2012;Hu, Ide, Zhang, Sinha, & Chiang-shan, 2015;Schmaal et al, 2013;Zhornitsky et al, 2018), such as the implications of the modular dysfunction and structural deficits of thalamus in reward processing and cognitive control (Chanraud et al, 2007;Grodin & Momenan, 2017;Pitel, Segobin, Ritz, Eustache, & Beaunieux, 2015). Disruptions to these psychological processes are critical features of alcohol dependence, and the thalamus appears to be particularly vulnerable to the influence of alcohol (Pitel et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Reduced resting‐state functional connectivity and sleep impairment in abstinent male alcohol‐dependent patients

Liu

Cai

Zhao

et al. 2019

Human Brain Mapping

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Alcohol dependence is associated with poor sleep quality, which has both been implicated with thalamocortical circuits function. To identify the possible roles of these circuits in the alcohol‐sleep association, we investigated the volume of both left and right thalamus and corresponding resting‐state functional connectivity (RSFC) differences between 15 alcohol‐dependent patients (AD) and 15 healthy controls (HC) male participants. The neuroimaging findings were then correlated with clinical variables, that is, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Additionally, mediation analysis was carried out to test whether the thalamocortical RSFC mediates the relationship between drinking behavior and sleep impairments in AD when applicable. We observed a significant positive correlation between AUDIT score and PSQI score in AD. Compared with HC, AD showed reduced RSFC between the left thalamus and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and right caudate. We also observed a negative correlation between RSFC of the left thalamus–mPFC and PSQI score in AD. More importantly, the left thalamus–mPFC RSFC strength mediated the relationship between AUDIT score and PSQI score in AD. No significant difference was detected in the normalized volume of both left and right thalamus, and volumes were not significantly correlated with clinical variables. Our results demonstrate that AD show abnormal interactions within thalamocortical circuits in association with drinking behaviors and sleep impairments. It is hoped that our study focusing on thalamocortical circuits could provide new information on potential novel therapeutic targets for treatment of sleep impairment in alcohol‐dependent patients.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Reduced resting‐state functional connectivity and sleep impairment in abstinent male alcohol‐dependent patients

Liu

Cai

Zhao

et al. 2019

Human Brain Mapping

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“…In men, connectivity between thalamus and salience and executive control regions correlated with AUDIT scores (Zhornitsky et al, 2018). In women, thalamic connectivity to posterior cingulate cortex correlated with AUDIT scores (Zhornitsky et al, 2018).…”

Section: Adulthoodmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Neuroadaptations related to AUD in these regions may be related to maladaptive regulation of neural circuits related to reward and cognition and may have implications for the likelihood of high-risk drinking in response to alcohol cues. For example, a recent resting state fMRI study found that drinking was associated with SG differences in thalamic connectivity in relation to AUDIT scores (Zhornitsky et al, 2018). In men, connectivity between thalamus and salience and executive control regions correlated with AUDIT scores (Zhornitsky et al, 2018).…”

Section: Adulthoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, a recent resting state fMRI study found that drinking was associated with SG differences in thalamic connectivity in relation to AUDIT scores (Zhornitsky et al, 2018). In men, connectivity between thalamus and salience and executive control regions correlated with AUDIT scores (Zhornitsky et al, 2018). In women, thalamic connectivity to posterior cingulate cortex correlated with AUDIT scores (Zhornitsky et al, 2018).…”

Section: Adulthoodmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sex/gender differences in brain function and structure in alcohol use: A narrative review of neuroimaging findings over the last 10 years

Verplaetse

Cosgrove

Tanabe³

et al. 2020

J of Neuroscience Research

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Over the last 10 years, rates of alcohol use disorder (AUD) have increased in women by 84% relative to a 35% increase in men. Rates of alcohol use and high‐risk drinking have also increased in women by 16% and 58% relative to a 7% and 16% increase in men, respectively, over the last decade. This robust increase in drinking among women highlights the critical need to identify the underlying neural mechanisms that may contribute to problematic alcohol consumption across sex/gender (SG), especially given that many neuroimaging studies are underpowered to detect main or interactive effects of SG on imaging outcomes. This narrative review aims to explore the recent neuroimaging literature on SG differences in brain function and structure as it pertains to alcohol across positron emission tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and functional magnetic resonance imaging modalities in humans. Additional work using magnetic resonance spectroscopy, diffusion tensor imaging, and event‐related potentials to examine SG differences in AUD will be covered. Overall, current research on the neuroimaging of AUD, alcohol consumption, or risk of AUD is limited, and findings are mixed regarding the effect of SG on neurochemical, structural, and functional mechanisms associated with AUD. We address SG disparities in the neuroimaging of AUD and propose a call to action to include women in brain imaging research. Future studies are crucial to our understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of AUD across neural systems and the vulnerability for AUD among women and men.

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“…As with previous work with similar task designs, 25,26 we distinguished food and nonfood image blocks for each subject using a general linear model (GLM) which included the realignment parameters in all six dimensions. We corrected for serial autocorrelation caused by aliased cardiovascular and respiratory effects by the FAST model.…”

Section: Imaging Data Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problem drinking alters gray matter volume and food cue responses of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex

Zhornitsky

Wang

et al. 2019

Addiction Biology

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Alcohol misuse is associated with significant energy deficits. As feeding involves multiple sensory, cognitive, and affective processes, low food intake in problem drinkers likely reflects alterations in both regional and interregional responses. To investigate the effects of problem drinking on feeding-related neural activities and connectivities, we examined functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data in 82 drinkers who viewed palatable food and nonfood images in alternating blocks. Drinking severity was assessed with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). A wholebrain multiple regression with AUDIT scores as the predictor showed a negative correlation between drinking severity and activation to food vs nonfood cues in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC). AUDIT scores were also negatively correlated with the gray matter volume (GMV) of the lOFC and regions that responded preferentially to food stimuli, including the left middle frontal gyrus, bilateral middle insula, and occipital cortices. Connectivity strength between the lOFC and these regions was negatively modulated by drinking severity. In contrast, there was no relationship between AUDIT scores and lOFC connectivity with regions that did not show either selectivity to food images or GMV loss. A mediation analysis further suggested that alcohol misuse may have compromised lOFC's structural integrity, which in turn disrupted lOFC interactions with regions that support the processing of visual food cues. Overall, the findings provide evidence for the effects of problem drinking on the brain substrates of feeding, potentially shedding light on the neural mechanisms underlying energy deficits in at-risk drinkers. KEYWORDS alcohol misuse, food cue processing, food intake, functional connectivity, gray matter volume, lateral orbitofrontal cortex 1 | INTRODUCTION Contrary to the short-term stimulating effects of acute alcohol ingestion on food consumption in casual drinkers, heavy drinking has been associated with depressed appetite, 2 low food consumption, 3 and decreased meal frequency, 1 leading to energy deficits. As feeding ensures organisms' survival, reduced food intake despite energy deficits likely reflects powerful changes in the neural substrates supporting feeding behavior. Indeed, excessive alcohol use has been associated with gray matter volume (GMV) loss in multiple brain regions involved in the regulation of food intake including the orbitofrontal, insular, medial prefrontal, and occipital cortices. 4-6 Previous research has implicated such regions in the reward, 7 cognitive control, 8 taste, 9 and visual processing of food stimuli, 10 respectively. Together, these

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Problem Drinking, Alcohol Expectancy, and Thalamic Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Nondependent Adult Drinkers

Cited by 25 publications

References 118 publications

Reduced resting‐state functional connectivity and sleep impairment in abstinent male alcohol‐dependent patients

Reduced resting‐state functional connectivity and sleep impairment in abstinent male alcohol‐dependent patients

Sex/gender differences in brain function and structure in alcohol use: A narrative review of neuroimaging findings over the last 10 years

Problem drinking alters gray matter volume and food cue responses of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex

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