title: Occipital event-related potentials to addiction-related stimuli in detoxified patients with alcohol dependence, and their association with three-month relapse.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Understanding the biological underpinnings of relapse in alcohol dependency is a major issue in addiction research. Based on recent evidence regarding the relevance of occipital visual evoked response potentials (ERPs) in addiction research, and its significance for relapse research, we assessed occipital ERPs to alcohol- and non-alcohol-related stimuli in recently detoxified patients and controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty recently detoxified patients with alcohol addiction, and 31 healthy control subjects, were assessed in a Go and a NoGo condition, each using three visual stimuli: tea, juice and beer. In the "Go" condition, subjects had to respond to the juice (12.5 %) and the beer stimulus (12.5 %), and ignore the tea picture (75 %). In the "NoGo" condition, subjects had to respond to the tea picture (75 %) and ignore the juice and the beer picture (12.5 % each). The subjects' EEGs were analyzed with regard to the occipital P100 and N170 ERP components. Patients were then evaluated for relapse 3 months after this initial assessment.
  
  
  RESULTS
  P100 amplitudes differed between conditions and between stimuli, and we found a condition x electrode interaction. However, none of these P100 results involved group or relapse-status effects. N170 amplitudes in patients were elevated as compared to controls. Additionally, patients' heightened N170 amplitudes in response to the alcohol-related (beer) stimulus were found only under the NoGo condition, where subjects had to react to the frequent tea stimulus and ignore the beer and the juice stimuli, thus resulting in a condition x stimulus x group interaction. Patients reporting relapse in a 3-month follow-up assessment showed larger NoGo N170 alcohol cue-related ERP amplitudes and increased depression scores as compared to patients who stayed abstinent. Depression was related to shortened P100 latencies in patients, but unrelated to the N170 NoGo cue-reactivity effect.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate a sensitivity of occipital ERPs to addiction-related stimuli when these act as non-targets. Recently detoxified patients may be vulnerable to addiction-related cues when these occur outside the focus of directed attention, thereby circumventing intentional control processes. Furthermore, ERPs to addiction-related stimuli may be useful as a predictor of abstinence success in recently detoxified patients.
authors.affiliation: Department for Addiction Medicine and Addictive Behavior, LVR-Hospital Essen, Faculty of Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Virchowstrasse 174, 45147, Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Carolin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Matheus-Roth
authors.affiliation: Rehaklinik Bellikon, Mutschellenstrasse 2, CH-5454, Bellikon, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ingmar
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schenk
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center (UMG), Georg-August-University, Von-Siebold-Str. 5, 37075, Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wiltfang
authors.affiliation: Department for Addiction Medicine and Addictive Behavior, LVR-Hospital Essen, Faculty of Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Virchowstrasse 174, 45147, Essen, Germany.|Department of Psychology, University of Wuppertal, Gaußstraße 2 0, 42119, Wuppertal, Germany.
authors.forename: Norbert
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Scherbaum
authors.affiliation: Department for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, LVR-Hospital Essen, Faculty of Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Virchowstrasse 174, 45147, Essen, Germany. bernhard.mueller@uni-due.de.|Department of Psychology, University of Wuppertal, Gaußstraße 2 0, 42119, Wuppertal, Germany. bernhard.mueller@uni-due.de.
authors.forename: Bernhard W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000628:therapy*; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000503:physiopathology*; D003463:Cues; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012008:Recurrence; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alcohol addiction; Cue-reactivity; Event-related potentials; Relapse