Behavioural cue reactivity to alcohol-related and non-alcohol-related stimuli among individuals with alcohol use disorder: An fMRI study with a visual task

Abstract

Patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) have difficulty controlling their alcohol cravings and thus exhibit increased use and early relapse. Although patients tend to respond more strongly to alcohol-related images than to non-alcohol-related images, few researchers have examined the factors that modulate cravings. Here, we examined whole-brain blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses to behavioural cues in individuals with AUD and in healthy controls (HCs). The participants included 24 patients with AUD and 15 HCs. We presented visual cues consisting of four beverage-related images (juice, drinking juice, sake, and drinking sake), and the cue reactivity of AUD participants was contrasted with that of HC participants. Multiple comparisons revealed that the AUD group had lower BOLD responses than the HC group in the left precuneus (p = 0.036) and the left posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) (p = 0.044) to images of drinking juice and higher BOLD responses than the HC group in the left PCC (p = 0.044) to images of drinking sake. Furthermore, compared to the HCs, the AUD patients had decreased BOLD responses associated with cue reactivity to drinking juice in the left precuneus during the periods from 15 to 18 s (p = 0.004, df = 37) and 18 to 21 s (p = 0.002, df = 37). Our findings suggest that HCs and AUD patients differ in their responses not to images of alcoholic beverages but to images related to alcohol-drinking behaviour. Thus, these patients appear to have different patterns of brain activity. This information may aid clinicians in developing treatments for patients with AUD.

Altered Global Signal Topography in Alcohol Use Disorders

“…In line with previous findings, AUD patients exhibited impairments in the insula and precuneus regions (Fukushima et al, 2020 ; Bordier et al, 2021 ). Recent fMRI studies have demonstrated that AUD can enhance activation in the insula, inferior frontal gyrus, and precuneus (Noori et al, 2016 ; Quaglieri et al, 2020 ).…”

Differential association between the GLP1R gene variants and brain functional connectivity according to the severity of alcohol use

“…The visuospatial network has been linked to cue reactivity in the context of AUD. In one study, Fukushima and colleagues found stronger fMRI BOLD response in the left precuneus among individuals with AUD, compared to controls, when they were exposed to images depicting drinking alcohol, and opposite results when exposed to images of drinking juice 66 . Another study looked at the connection between the visuospatial network and parietal regions, and found weaker resting-state connectivity to the visuospatial network in individuals with AUD, compared to controls, implying potential deficits in memory encoding and insufficient visuospatial information for well-controlled movements 67 .…”

Effects of acupuncture stimulation on brain activation induced by cue-elicited alcohol craving

“…Many neuroimaging studies have reported brain activation in alcohol craving (Modell and Mountz, 1995;George et al, 2001;Heinz et al, 2004;Karch et al, 2015;Fukushima et al, 2020). Acupuncture at Shenmen (HT7) acupoint on the heart channel is frequently used to treat mental and psychiatric disorders Cue-elicited alcohol craving was assessed using a 10-point Likert scale.…”

“…Neuroimaging studies have investigated brain regions involved in alcohol cue-elicited craving in patients with alcohol use disorder (Modell and Mountz, 1995;George et al, 2001;Heinz et al, 2004;Karch et al, 2015;Fukushima et al, 2020). These finding indicated brain regions activated by cues are associated with reward, memory, cognition and emotion (Myrick et al, 2004;Filbey et al, 2008;Cai et al, 2012).…”