title: The potential of neuroimaging for identifying predictors of adolescent alcohol use initiation and misuse.
abstract: Dysfunction in brain regions underlying impulse control, reward processing and executive function have been associated previously with adolescent alcohol misuse. However, identifying pre-existing neurobiological risk factors, as distinct from changes arising from early alcohol-use, is difficult. Here, we outline how neuroimaging data can identify the neural predictors of adolescent alcohol-use initiation and misuse by using prospective longitudinal studies to follow initially alcohol-naive individuals over time and by neuroimaging adolescents with inherited risk factors for alcohol misuse.
  
  
  
  A comprehensive narrative of the literature regarding neuroimaging studies published between 2010 and 2016 focusing on predictors of adolescent alcohol use initiation and misuse.
  
  
  
  Prospective, longitudinal neuroimaging studies have identified pre-existing differences between adolescents who remained alcohol-naive and those who transitioned subsequently to alcohol use. Both functional and structural grey matter differences were observed in temporal and frontal regions, including reduced brain activity in the superior frontal gyrus and temporal lobe, and thinner temporal cortices of future alcohol users. Interactions between brain function and genetic predispositions have been identified, including significant association found between the Ras protein-specific guanine nucleotide releasing factor 2 (RASGRF2) gene and reward-related striatal functioning.
  
  
  
  Neuroimaging predictors of alcohol use have shown modest utility to date. Future research should use out-of-sample performance as a quantitative measure of a predictor's utility. Neuroimaging data should be combined across multiple modalities, including structural information such as volumetrics and cortical thickness, in conjunction with white-matter tractography. A number of relevant neurocognitive systems should be assayed; particularly, inhibitory control, reward processing and executive functioning. Combining a rich magnetic resonance imaging data set could permit the generation of neuroimaging risk scores, which could potentially yield targeted interventions.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: O'Halloran
authors.affiliation: Department for Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Charlotte
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nymberg
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jollans
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA.
authors.forename: Hugh
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Garavan
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.|Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Whelan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012201:Reward; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology; D000066608:Underage Drinking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D020663:ras Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C504490:RASGRF2 protein, human; D020663:ras Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors
keywords: Addiction; adolescence; executive function; impulsivity; neuroimaging; reward