Link Between Anhedonia and Depression During Early Alcohol Abstinence: Gender Matters

Anhedonia and impulsivity in college alcohol use: A path analysis

OBJECTIVE

Alcohol use is a substantial problem among college students and has several negative consequences. The current study examined the associations between anhedonia and alcohol use and related problems via impulsive behavior (e.g., negative urgency, sensation seeking). We parsed anhedonia into four specific facets: consummatory, anticipatory, recreational, and social anhedonia.

PARTICIPANTS

Six hundred and forty college students aged 18-25 were included in the final analysis.

METHOD

Data were collected via Amazon Mechanical Turk. Self-report inventories assessing for anhedonia, alcohol use, impulsive behavior, and depressed mood were utilized.

RESULTS

Recreational consummatory anhedonia was negatively associated with alcohol use and alcohol-related problems through negative urgency. Recreational consummatory anhedonia also had significant negative associations with alcohol consumption via sensation seeking. Further, social anticipatory anhedonia was positively associated with alcohol use and related problems via negative urgency.

CONCLUSIONS

This study highlights important associations between anhedonia, impulsivity, and alcohol use and related problems.

Transcriptomics identifies STAT3 as a key regulator of hippocampal gene expression and anhedonia during withdrawal from chronic alcohol exposure

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is highly comorbid with depression. Withdrawal from chronic alcohol drinking results in depression and understanding brain molecular mechanisms that drive withdrawal-related depression is important for finding new drug targets to treat these comorbid conditions. Here, we performed RNA sequencing of the rat hippocampus during withdrawal from chronic alcohol drinking to discover key signaling pathways involved in alcohol withdrawal-related depressive-like behavior. Data were analyzed by weighted gene co-expression network analysis to identify several modules of co-expressed genes that could have a common underlying regulatory mechanism. One of the hub, or highly interconnected, genes in module 1 that increased during alcohol withdrawal was the transcription factor, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3), a known regulator of immune gene expression. Total and phosphorylated (p)STAT3 protein levels were also increased in the hippocampus during withdrawal after chronic alcohol exposure. Further, pSTAT3 binding was enriched at the module 1 genes Gfap, Tnfrsf1a, and Socs3 during alcohol withdrawal. Notably, pSTAT3 and its target genes were elevated in the postmortem hippocampus of human subjects with AUD when compared with control subjects. To determine the behavioral relevance of STAT3 activation during alcohol withdrawal, we treated rats with the STAT3 inhibitor stattic and tested for sucrose preference as a measure of anhedonia. STAT3 inhibition alleviated alcohol withdrawal-induced anhedonia. These results demonstrate activation of STAT3 signaling in the hippocampus during alcohol withdrawal in rats and in human AUD subjects, and suggest that STAT3 could be a therapeutic target for reducing comorbid AUD and depression.

Relevance of routine activities for understanding the impact of the dual systems model on binge drinking among college students

BACKGROUND

Past research has indicated that dual systems model constructs (impulsivity, sensation-seeking) are predictors of binge drinking. Further, engagement in routine unstructured social activities also predicts elevated risk for binge drinking. However, there has yet to be any research that examines the interactive effect of these constructs.

METHODS

The present study utilized a sample of 248 undergraduate students to understand the relationships between concepts on interest. A series of ordinal logistic regression models were estimated to determine the direct effects of impulsivity, sensation-seeking, and routine activities on binge drinking and also determine whether or not involvement in routine activities moderated the direct effects of either impulsivity and/or sensation-seeking on binge drinking.

RESULTS

Results indicated that lower sensation-seeking was associated with elevated binge drinking frequency. However, the interaction between routine activities and sensation-seeking indicated a positive relationship. This meant that the effects of high levels of sensation-seeking on binge drinking were exacerbated at higher levels of routine activities involvement.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings of the present study indicate that students high in sensation-seeking and engagement in unstructured socializing present great risk for high frequency binge drinking. However, students who demonstrate low levels of sensation-seeking may also present an at-risk population, as they may be using alcohol to self-medicate anhedonia symptoms.