Brain Activation Associated with Automatic Processing of Alcohol-Related Cues in Young Heavy Drinkers and Its Modulation by Alcohol Administration

The Pattern of Alcohol Use in Alcohol-Related Cirrhosis in Indian Patients: AUDIT Indian Liver Study

Background

Alcohol is one of the most common causes of liver cirrhosis. Yet, the pattern of alcohol consumption in cirrhosis is rarely studied. This study aims to study the drinking patterns along with the educational, socioeconomic, and mental health in a cohort of patients with and without liver cirrhosis.

Methods

This prospective observational study was conducted at a tertiary-care hospital and included patients with harmful drinking. Demographic, alcohol intake history, assessment of socioeconomic and psychological status by modified Kuppuswamy scale and Beckwith Inventory, respectively, were recorded and analyzed.

Results

Cirrhosis was present in 38.31% of patients with heavy drinking (64%). Cirrhosis was more among illiterates (51.76%) with early onset (22.4. ± 7.30 yrs P = 0.0001) and longer duration of alcohol (12.5 ± 6.5 vs. 6.8 ± 3.4 P = 0.001). Higher education qualification was associated with lower cirrhosis (P < 0.0001). With the same employment and education qualifications, net income in cirrhosis was lower [USD 298 (175-435) vs. USD 386 (119-739) P = 0.0001]. Whiskey (86.8%) was the commonest drink consumed. Similar median alcoholic drinks per week were consumed by both groups [34 (22-41) vs. 30 (24-40), P = 0.625], while indigenous alcohol was more consumed in cirrhosis [105 (98.5-109.75) vs. 89.5.0 (69.25-110.0) P = 0.0001]. Loss of jobs (12.36%) and partner violence were more in cirrhotic (9.89% vs. 5.80%) with similar borderline depression.

Conclusion

Alcohol use disorder-related cirrhosis is present in a quarter of patients with harmful early onset and longer duration of drinking and is inversely related to the education status and affects the socioeconomic, physical, and family health of patients.

Are There Neural Overlaps of Reactivity to Illegal Drugs, Tobacco, and Alcohol Cues? With Evidence From ALE and CMA

Abuses of most illegal drugs, including methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and polydrug, are usually in conjunction with alcohol and tobacco. There are similarities and associations between the behavior, gene, and neurophysiology of such abusers, but the neural overlaps of their cue-reactivity and the correlation of neural overlap with drug craving still needs to be further explored. In this study, an Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) was performed on brain activation under legal (tobacco, alcohol) and illegal drug cues, for identifying the similarities in brain functions between different craving states. A Comprehensive meta-analysis (CMA) on the correlation coefficient between brain activation and craving scores in the selected literatures with subjective craving reports explained the degree of the craving via brain imaging results. In ALE, co-activation areas of the three cue-reactivity (posterior cingulate, caudate, and thalamus) suggest that the three cue-reactivity may all arouse drug-use identity which is a predictor of relapse and generation of conditioned reflexes under reward memory, thus leading to illegal drug relapses. In CMA, the brain activation was significantly correlated with subjective craving, with a correlation coefficient of 0.222. The neural overlap of tobacco, alcohol and most of the prevalent illegal drug cues not only further helps us understand the neural mechanism of substance co-abuse and relapse, but also provides implications to detoxification. Furthermore, the correlation between brain activation and craving is low, suggesting the accuracy of craving-based quantitative evaluation by neuroimaging remains unclear.

Evidence That Implementation Intentions Enhance Cognitive Training and Reduce Alcohol Consumption in Heavy Drinkers: A Randomized Trial

BACKGROUND

Current training tasks to improve the cognitive deficits thought to be involved in sustained heavy drinking need further investigation to optimize their effectiveness.

PURPOSE

The present study investigated whether combining implementation intention provision with a cognitive training task had a measurable effect on alcohol consumption in heavy drinkers and explored the neural mechanisms underpinning any reductions in subsequent alcohol consumption.

METHODS

Thirty-two heavy-drinking participants completed approach-avoidance and visual probe training tasks preintervention and postintervention during functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Participants in the intervention group were randomized to form implementation intentions and participants in the control condition read a goal intention. Alcohol consumption was recorded preintervention and at 1 month follow-up.

RESULTS

Compared to the control group, implementation intention provision significantly improved performance on alcohol-avoidance tasks postintervention, t(30) = -2.315, p = .028, d = .85, and reduced alcohol consumption by 6.9 units/week (1 unit = 10 mL or 8 g ethanol), F(1,30) = 4.263, p = .048 (d = .74), at follow-up. However, the analysis of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging data revealed no significant differences between groups.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings show for the first time that implementation intentions targeting cognitive processes can significantly reduce alcohol consumption among heavy drinkers. However, there was no evidence that the effects were mediated by changes in neural activity. Further work is required to explore the neural mechanisms underpinning the operation of implementation intentions.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This trial was registered (ISRCTN:35503634) and is available at https://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN35503634.

The Burden of Binge and Heavy Drinking on the Brain: Effects on Adolescent and Young Adult Neural Structure and Function

Introduction: Adolescence and young adulthood are periods of continued biological and psychosocial maturation. Thus, there may be deleterious effects of consuming large quantities of alcohol on neural development and associated cognition during this time. The purpose of this mini review is to highlight neuroimaging research that has specifically examined the effects of binge and heavy drinking on adolescent and young adult brain structure and function. Methods: We review cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of young binge and heavy drinkers that have examined brain structure (e.g., gray and white matter volume, cortical thickness, white matter microstructure) and investigated brain response using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Results: Binge and heavy-drinking adolescents and young adults have systematically thinner and lower volume in prefrontal cortex and cerebellar regions, and attenuated white matter development. They also show elevated brain activity in fronto-parietal regions during working memory, verbal learning, and inhibitory control tasks. In response to alcohol cues, relative to controls or light-drinking individuals, binge and heavy drinkers show increased neural response mainly in mesocorticolimbic regions, including the striatum, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), hippocampus, and amygdala. Mixed findings are present in risky decision-making tasks, which could be due to large variation in task design and analysis. Conclusions: These findings suggest altered neural structure and activity in binge and heavy-drinking youth may be related to the neurotoxic effects of consuming alcohol in large quantities during a highly plastic neurodevelopmental period, which could result in neural reorganization, and increased risk for developing an alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Serotonin's Complex Role in Alcoholism: Implications for Treatment and Future Research

Current pharmacological treatments for alcohol dependence have focused on reducing alcohol consumption, but to date there are few treatments that also address the negative affective symptoms during acute and protracted alcohol withdrawal which are often exacerbated in people with comorbid anxiety and depression. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are sometimes prescribed to ameliorate these symptoms but can exacerbate anxiety and cravings in a select group of patients. In this critical review, we discuss recent literature describing an association between alcohol dependence, the SERT linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR), and pharmacological response to SSRIs. Given the heterogeneity in responsiveness to serotonergic drugs across the spectrum of alcoholic subtypes, we assess the contribution of specific 5-HT circuits to discrete endophenotypes of alcohol dependence. 5-HT circuits play a distinctive role in reward, stress, and executive function which may account for the variation in response to serotonergic drugs. New optogenetic and chemogenetic methods for dissecting 5-HT circuits in alcohol dependence may provide clues leading to more effective pharmacotherapies. Although our current understanding of the role of 5-HT systems in alcohol dependence is incomplete, there is some evidence to suggest that 5-HT3 receptor antagonists are effective in people with the L/L genotype of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism while SSRIs may be more beneficial to people with the S/L or S/S genotype. Studies that assess the impact of serotonin transporter polymorphisms on 5-HT circuit function and the subsequent development of alcohol use disorders will be an important step forward in treating alcohol dependence.