Effects of alcohol on brain responses to social signals of threat in humans.
Alcohol is a known exogenous modulator of negative affect (anxiety, tension) in both animals and humans. It has been proposed that the anxiolytic effects of alcohol are mediated via the amygdala, an area critical to fear perception and responding. However, little is known about the acute effects of alcohol on amygdala reactivity to threatening information in humans. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and a validated task to probe amygdala responses to social signals of threat in 12 healthy, social drinkers after a double-blind crossover administration of alcohol or placebo. We found that alcohol significantly reduced amygdala reactivity to threat signals. The current findings fit well with the notion that alcohol may attenuate threat-based responding and provide a potential brain-based mechanism for the link between alcohol and anxiety and/or social threat perception.
Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.
Chandra Sekhar
CS
Sripada
Mike
M
Angstadt
Patrick
P
McNamara
Andrea C
AC
King
K Luan
KL
Phan
D000679:Amygdala / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D005239:Fear / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055815:Young Adult
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol