Effects of Alcohol Dependence Severity on Neural Correlates of Delay Discounting.
OBJECTIVE
The current study examines the relationship between alcohol dependence severity and delay discounting neural activation.


METHODS
Participants (N = 17; 6 female) completed measures of alcohol use and severity and a functional magnetic resonance imaging version of a delay discounting task.


RESULTS
Alcohol dependence severity was negatively associated with activation in superior frontal gyrus during impulsive relative to delayed decisions, and positively associated with activation in paracingulate gyrus and frontal pole in delayed relative to impulsive decisions.


CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that alcohol dependence severity tracks closely with dysregulations in cognitive control and reward evaluation areas during impulsive and delayed decisions, respectively. Delay discounting may be a useful construct in capturing these cognitive dysregulations as alcohol use disorders become more severe.


OBJECTIVE
Among alcohol-dependent individuals, alcohol dependence severity is associated with overactivation of ventromedial prefrontal areas during delayed and underactivation of dorsolateral prefrontal regions during impulsive reward decisions.
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Aaron C
AC
Lim
School of Psychological Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA.
Anita
A
Cservenka
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.|Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Lara A
LA
Ray
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*; D065786:Delay Discounting / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult