title: Gender effects in alcohol dependence: an fMRI pilot study examining affective processing.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alcohol dependence (AD) has global effects on brain structure and function, including frontolimbic regions regulating affective processing. Preliminary evidence suggests alcohol blunts limbic response to negative affective stimuli and increases activation to positive affective stimuli. Subtle gender differences are also evident during affective processing.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fourteen abstinent AD individuals (8 F, 6 M) and 14 healthy controls (9 F, 5 M), ages 23 to 60, were included in this facial affective processing functional magnetic resonance imaging pilot study. Whole-brain linear regression analyses were performed, and follow-up analyses examined whether AD status significantly predicted depressive symptoms and/or coping.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fearful Condition-The AD group demonstrated reduced activation in the right medial frontal gyrus, compared with controls. Gender moderated the effects of AD in bilateral inferior frontal gyri. Happy Condition-AD individuals had increased activation in the right thalamus. Gender moderated the effects of AD in the left caudate, right middle frontal gyrus, left paracentral lobule, and right lingual gyrus. Interactive AD and gender effects for fearful and happy faces were such that AD men activated more than control men, but AD women activated less than control women. Enhanced coping was associated with greater activation in right medial frontal gyrus during fearful condition in AD individuals.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Abnormal affective processing in AD may be a marker of alcoholism risk or a consequence of chronic alcoholism. Subtle gender differences were observed, and gender moderated the effects of AD on neural substrates of affective processing. AD individuals with enhanced coping had brain activation patterns more similar to controls. Results help elucidate the effects of alcohol, gender, and their interaction on affective processing.
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, California; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California.
authors: Claudia B
authors: CB
authors: Padula
authors: Robert M
authors: RM
authors: Anthenelli
authors: James C
authors: JC
authors: Eliassen
authors: Erik
authors: E
authors: Nelson
authors: Krista M
authors: KM
authors: Lisdahl
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000503:physiopathology; D003863:Depression / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005149:Facial Expression; D005260:Female; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D010865:Pilot Projects; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D012737:Sex Factors; D012938:Social Perception; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Affective Processing; Alcohol Dependence; Coping; Gender; fMRI