Resting-State Synchrony During Early Alcohol Abstinence Can Predict Subsequent Relapse

Abstract

Short-term abstinent alcoholics have shown increased engagement of reward regions and reduced engagement of executive control regions. There is no report yet on whether these differences can predict relapse. This is the first study that investigates whether differences in resting-state networks can predict later relapse. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected from 69 short-term abstinent alcoholics. Participants performed the affective go/no-go task outside of the scanner. At 6-month follow-up, participants were grouped as abstainers (N = 40; age: M = 46.70, standard deviation [SD] = 6.83) and relapsers (N = 29; age: M = 46.91, SD = 7.25). We examined baseline resting-state synchrony (RSS) using seed-based measures. Compared with abstainers, relapsers showed significantly decreased RSS within both the reward and executive control networks as well as within the visual network (P < 0.05). Lower RSS in relapsers could predict relapse (P < 0.05) and was significantly correlated with poor inhibitory control of emotional-laden stimuli (P < 0.017) and with alcohol use (P < 0.05). Results suggest that lower RSS during short-term abstinence may predict subsequent relapse. The association of lower RSS with poorer inhibitory control suggests that low RSS may constitute a faulty foundation for future responses to external cues, which can be manifested as the inability to inhibit behavior.

Reduced Left Executive Control Network Functional Connectivity Is Associated with Alcohol Use Disorders

“…However, Chanraud et al (2011) reported that controls (n=15) had more positive resting state connectivity within the default mode network that ALC subjects (n=15) which we did not find. Further Camchong et al (2012) found than relapsing alcoholics (n=29) had lower connectivity within not only the ECNs, but also within reward, visual and salience networks than abstainers (n=40), networks where we did not find significant effects, possibly attributable to our large sample of subjects with varying degrees of disorder. Our study also did not include follow up data for evaluation of relapse, however, given the finding that measures of severity were associated with degradation of network integrity only within the LECN across 383 ALC subjects, the negative impact of chronic alcohol use on this control system may be critically important in the addiction cycle.…”

Longitudinal behavioral and fMRI‑based assessment of inhibitory control in heroin addicts on methadone maintenance treatment

“…Another noteworthy phenomenon is that most former studies on MMT have been cross-sectional, preventing investigators from adequately controlling for possible effects of previous addictive drug use. Understanding whether and how MMT affects inhibitory control function is essential for improving efficacy, which is particularly important, as therapy is associated with a relatively high rate of relapse (15).…”

Neuroprediction of future rearrest

“…Indeed, neuroscientists have suggested that endophenotypes carry the potential to characterize underlying traits and abnormalities independently of behavioral phenotypes (5). This stance has been supported by recent functional MRI (fMRI) studies that have, for instance, accurately predicted choices in a motor-decision task (6), substance abuse relapse (7)(8)(9)(10), and consumer purchases (i.e., neuromarketing) (11). These results raise the possibility that more direct measures of brain activity associated with impulse control may lend incremental utility to the prediction of future antisocial behavior.…”