Family history of alcohol-use disorders and spatial working memory: effects on adolescent alcohol expectancies.
OBJECTIVE
Family history (FH) of alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) has been associated with frontal lobe deficits, more positive expectations for alcohol effects, and increased risk of developing AUDs. We tested the hypothesis that anterior brain regions mediate the relationship between FH of AUDs and alcohol expectancies in adolescents.


METHODS
Nondrinking adolescents (N = 50) ages 12-14 completed measures of FH of AUDs, alcohol expectancies, and substance use and performed spatial working memory and vigilance tasks during functional magnetic resonance imaging.


RESULTS
Activation of the anterior cingulate significantly predicted alcohol expectancies (R(2)Delta = 9%, beta = .32, F(change) = 6.09, 1/43 df, p < .05). However, FH of AUDs was not associated with brain response or alcohol expectancies.


CONCLUSIONS
Although a mediational model was not supported, activation in the anterior cingulate was linked to alcohol expectancies, such that adolescents with less neural differentiation to task demands had more positive expectancies for alcohol's effects. These results provide a greater understanding of the interrelations among risk factors for AUD and point to individuals who might be targeted for early, cognitively based interventions.
Pulido
Carmen
C
Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System and the Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive (151B), San Diego, California 92161-2002, USA.
Anderson
Kristen G
KG
Armstead
Adam G
AG
Brown
Sandra A
SA
Tapert
Susan F
SF
D000293:Adolescent; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D001290:Attitude; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D013037:Spatial Behavior