Ventral striatal activation during reward anticipation correlates with impulsivity in alcoholics.
BACKGROUND
Alcohol dependence is often associated with impulsivity, which may be correlated with dysfunction of the brain reward system. We explored whether functional brain activation during anticipation of incentive stimuli is associated with impulsiveness in detoxified alcoholics and healthy control subjects.


METHODS
Nineteen detoxified male alcoholics and 19 age-matched healthy men participated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study using a monetary incentive delay (MID) task, in which visual cues predicted that a rapid response to a subsequent target stimulus would either result in monetary gain, avoidance of monetary loss, or no consequence. Impulsivity was assessed with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-Version 10 (BIS-10).


RESULTS
Detoxified alcoholics showed reduced activation of the ventral striatum during anticipation of monetary gain relative to healthy control subjects. Low activation of the ventral striatum and anterior cingulate during gain anticipation was correlated with high impulsivity only in alcoholics, not in control subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that reduced ventral striatal recruitment during anticipation of conventional rewards in alcoholics may be related to their increased impulsivity and indicate possibilities for enhanced treatment approaches in alcohol dependence.
Beck
Anne
A
Department of Psychiatry, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte, Berlin, Germany.
Schlagenhauf
Florian
F
Wüstenberg
Torsten
T
Hein
Jakob
J
Kienast
Thorsten
T
Kahnt
Thorsten
T
Schmack
Katharina
K
Hägele
Claudia
C
Knutson
Brian
B
Heinz
Andreas
A
Wrase
Jana
J
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D012201:Reward