Background
Difficulty with impulse control is heightened in children with a family history of alcohol use disorders and is a risk factor for later substance problems. Cross-sectional fMRI studies have shown altered impulse control processing in family history positive adolescents, yet developmental trajectories have yet to be examined.
Methods
Longitudinal fMRI was conducted in children of alcoholic (FH+; n=43) and control families (FH−; n=30) starting at ages 7-12yr. Participants performed a go/no-go task during fMRI at 1- to 2-yr intervals, with 2-4 scans per subject. We implemented a repeated-measures linear model fit across all subjects to conduct a whole-brain search for developmental differences between groups.
Results
Performance improved with age in both groups and there were no performance differences between groups. Significant between-group differences in linear age-related activation changes were found in the right caudate, middle cingulate, and middle frontal gyrus. Post-hoc analyses revealed significant activation decreases with age in the caudate and middle frontal gyrus for FH− subjects, and a significant increase with age in middle cingulate activation for the FH+ group. Group differences were evident as early as age 7-12yr, even in alcohol and drug naïve participants, with the FH+ group showing significantly blunted activation compared to FH− subjects at baseline.
Conclusions
Differences in response inhibition circuitry are visible as early as childhood in FH+ individuals; this continues into adolescence, displaying trajectories that are inconsistent with normal response inhibition development. These patterns precede problem drinking and may be a contributing factor for subsequent substance problems.