Dresden study on longitudinal alcohol effects in young adults: Neuroimaging of impulsive and aggressive behavior

It is well known that alcohol consumption leads to disinhibition of behaviour and in some people to increased aggression. This alcohol-induced disinhibition can be attributed to diminished impulse control. The present study aims to identify, using functional MRI, the neural networks mediating the effects of acute alcohol administration on disinhibition of behaviour and increased aggressive behaviour. Furthermore, Arterial Spin Labeling is used to explore how and in which brain areas cerebral perfusion changes with increasing alcohol levels. The disinhibiting effects of acute alcohol administration on fMRI BOLD activity are assessed during a prescribed 60 mg% (note: equivalent to 0.6 ‰) arterial breath alcohol concentration (aBAC) auotoclamp while participants perform the Stop-Signal task. The Stop-Signal Task is a well established paradigm measuring the ability to inhibit an already triggered motor response, the so-called response inhibition. We assume that increasing alcohol levels change the fMRI BOLD activity in the forebrain typically related to response inhibition. It is as yet unknown whether the activation within the forebrain will be reduced or increased under alcohol exposure. Moreover, the Taylor Aggression Paradigm is used to examine which brain areas mediate increased physical aggression during the same aBAC autoclamp as described above. We hypothesize that fMRI BOLD effects related to increased aggression in alcohol-intoxicated participants might be located in brain areas associated with emotion regulation such as the amygdala and the anterior cingulate cortex. To control for acute alcohol tolerance during fMRI measurements, visually guided saccades, a robust marker for alcohol intoxication, are recorded. All participants undergo an alcohol and a placebo fMRI session.

Researchers:
Gabriela Gan
Mark Jacob
Michael Marxen
Maximilian Pilhatsch
Michael N. Smolka

Collaborations:
Matthias Günther, Fraunhofer MEVIS – Institute for Medical Image Computing, Bremen, Germany
Sean O’Connor, Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, and Purdue University, Indianapolis, USA
Ulrich S. Zimmermann, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany

Funding:
NIAAA Grant # U01AA017900