title: Negative urgency and ventromedial prefrontal cortex responses to alcohol cues: FMRI evidence of emotion-based impulsivity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent research has highlighted the role of emotion-based impulsivity (negative and positive urgency personality traits) for alcohol use and abuse, but has yet to examine how these personality traits interact with the brain's motivational systems. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we tested whether urgency traits and mood induction affected medial prefrontal responses to alcohol odors (AcO).
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-seven social drinkers (mean age = 25.2, 14 males) had 6 fMRI scans while viewing negative, neutral, or positive mood images (3 mood conditions) during intermittent exposure to AcO and appetitive control (AppCo) aromas.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Voxel-wise analyses (p < 0.001) confirmed [AcO > AppCo] activation throughout medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and ventromedial PFC (vmPFC) regions. Extracted from a priori mPFC and vmPFC regions and analyzed in Odor (AcO, AppCo) × Mood factorial models, AcO activation was greater than AppCo in left vmPFC (p < 0.001), left mPFC (p = 0.002), and right vmPFC (p = 0.01) regions. Mood did not interact significantly with activation, but the covariate of trait negative urgency accounted for significant variance in left vmPFC (p = 0.01) and right vmPFC (p = 0.01) [AcO > AppCo] activation. Negative urgency also mediated the relationship between vmPFC activation and both (i) subjective craving and (ii) problematic drinking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The trait of negative urgency is associated with neural responses to alcohol cues in the vmPFC, a region involved in reward value and emotion-guided decision-making. This suggests that negative urgency might alter subjective craving and brain regions involved in coding reward value.
authors.affiliation: Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana.
authors.forename: Melissa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cyders
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dzemidzic
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Eiler
authors.forename: Ayca
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Coskunpinar
authors.forename: Kenny
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Karyadi
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Kareken
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000187:drug effects; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003463:Cues; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009812:Odorants; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol
keywords: Alcohol; Emotion; Impulsivity; Olfaction; fMRI Imaging