title: A Preliminary Prospective Study of an Escalation in 'Maximum Daily Drinks', Fronto-Parietal Circuitry and Impulsivity-Related Domains in Young Adult Drinkers.
abstract: Excessive alcohol use in young adults is associated with greater impulsivity and neurobiological alterations in executive control systems. The maximum number of drinks consumed during drinking occasions ('MaxDrinks') represents a phenotype linked to vulnerability of alcohol use disorders, and an increase, or 'escalation', in MaxDrinks may be indicative of greater risk for problematic drinking. Thirty-six young adult drinkers performed a Go/No-Go task during fMRI, completed impulsivity-related assessments, and provided monthly reports of alcohol use during a 12-month follow-up period. Participants were characterized by MaxDrinks at baseline and after follow-up, identifying 18 escalating drinkers and 18 constant drinkers. Independent component analysis was used to investigate functional brain networks associated with response inhibition, and relationships with principal component analysis derived impulsivity-related domains were examined. Greater baseline MaxDrinks was associated with an average reduction in the engagement of a right-lateralized fronto-parietal functional network, while an escalation in MaxDrinks was associated with a greater difference in fronto-parietal engagement between successful inhibitions and error trials. Escalating drinkers displayed greater impulsivity/compulsivity-related domain scores that were positively associated with fronto-parietal network engagement and change in MaxDrinks during follow-up. In young adults, an escalating MaxDrinks trajectory was prospectively associated with altered fronto-parietal control mechanisms and greater impulsivity/compulsivity scores. Continued longitudinal studies of MaxDrinks trajectories, functional network activity, and impulsivity/compulsivity-related features may lend further insight into an intermediate phenotype vulnerable for alcohol use and addictive disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Patrick D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Worhunsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.|Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Hartford Hospital/Institute of Living, Hartford, CT, USA.|Department of Psychology, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Alecia D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Dager
authors.affiliation: Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Hartford Hospital/Institute of Living, Hartford, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Shashwath A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Meda
authors.affiliation: Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Hartford Hospital/Institute of Living, Hartford, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Sabin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khadka
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.|Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Hartford Hospital/Institute of Living, Hartford, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Michael C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Carol S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Austad
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Trinity College, Hartford, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Raskin
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine and Healthcare, University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tennen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Carolyn R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Fallahi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.|Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.|Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Marc N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Potenza
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.|Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Hartford Hospital/Institute of Living, Hartford, CT, USA.|Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Godfrey D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Pearlson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol