@article{ChenBelangerGarbusowetal.2023, author = {Chen, Hao and Belanger, Matthew J. and Garbusow, Maria and Kuitunen-Paul, Soeren and Huys, Quentin J. M. and Heinz, Andreas and Rapp, Michael A. and Smolka, Michael N.}, title = {Susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control predisposes risky alcohol use developmental trajectory from ages 18 to 24}, series = {Addiction biology}, volume = {28}, journal = {Addiction biology}, number = {2}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1355-6215}, doi = {10.1111/adb.13263}, pages = {18}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Pavlovian cues can influence ongoing instrumental behaviour via Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) processes. While appetitive Pavlovian cues tend to promote instrumental approach, they are detrimental when avoidance behaviour is required, and vice versa for aversive cues. We recently reported that susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control assessed via a PIT task was associated with risky alcohol use at age 18. We now investigated whether such susceptibility also predicts drinking trajectories until age 24, based on AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) consumption and binge drinking (gramme alcohol/drinking occasion) scores. The interference PIT effect, assessed at ages 18 and 21 during fMRI, was characterized by increased error rates (ER) and enhanced neural responses in the ventral striatum (VS), the lateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortices (dmPFC) during conflict, that is, when an instrumental approach was required in the presence of an aversive Pavlovian cue or vice versa. We found that a stronger VS response during conflict at age 18 was associated with a higher starting point of both drinking trajectories but predicted a decrease in binge drinking. At age 21, high ER and enhanced neural responses in the dmPFC were associated with increasing AUDIT-C scores over the next 3 years until age 24. Overall, susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control might be viewed as a predisposing mechanism towards hazardous alcohol use during young adulthood, and the identified high-risk group may profit from targeted interventions.}, language = {en} } @misc{ChenNebeMojtahedzadehetal.2020, author = {Chen, Hao and Nebe, Stephan and Mojtahedzadeh, Negin and Kuitunen-Paul, Soren and Garbusow, Maria and Schad, Daniel and Rapp, Michael A. and Huys, Quentin J. M. and Heinz, Andreas and Smolka, Michael N.}, title = {Susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control is associated with early hazardous alcohol use}, series = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {4}, issn = {1866-8364}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-56960}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-569609}, pages = {16}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) tasks examine the influence of Pavlovian stimuli on ongoing instrumental behaviour. Previous studies reported associations between a strong PIT effect, high-risk drinking and alcohol use disorder. This study investigated whether susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control is linked to risky alcohol use in a community sample of 18-year-old male adults. Participants (N = 191) were instructed to 'collect good shells' and 'leave bad shells' during the presentation of appetitive (monetary reward), aversive (monetary loss) or neutral Pavlovian stimuli. We compared instrumental error rates (ER) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain responses between the congruent and incongruent conditions, as well as among high-risk and low-risk drinking groups. On average, individuals showed a substantial PIT effect, that is, increased ER when Pavlovian cues and instrumental stimuli were in conflict compared with congruent trials. Neural PIT correlates were found in the ventral striatum and the dorsomedial and lateral prefrontal cortices (lPFC). Importantly, high-risk drinking was associated with a stronger behavioural PIT effect, a decreased lPFC response and an increased neural response in the ventral striatum on the trend level. Moreover, high-risk drinkers showed weaker connectivity from the ventral striatum to the lPFC during incongruent trials. Our study links interference during PIT to drinking behaviour in healthy, young adults. High-risk drinkers showed higher susceptibility to Pavlovian cues, especially when they conflicted with instrumental behaviour, indicating lower interference control abilities. Increased activity in the ventral striatum (bottom-up), decreased lPFC response (top-down), and their altered interplay may contribute to poor interference control in the high-risk drinkers.}, language = {en} } @article{ChenNebeMojtahedzadehetal.2020, author = {Chen, Hao and Nebe, Stephan and Mojtahedzadeh, Negin and Kuitunen-Paul, Soren and Garbusow, Maria and Schad, Daniel and Rapp, Michael A. and Huys, Quentin J. M. and Heinz, Andreas and Smolka, Michael N.}, title = {Susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control is associated with early hazardous alcohol use}, series = {Addiction biology}, volume = {26}, journal = {Addiction biology}, number = {4}, publisher = {Wiley}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1355-6215}, doi = {10.1111/adb.12983}, pages = {1 -- 14}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) tasks examine the influence of Pavlovian stimuli on ongoing instrumental behaviour. Previous studies reported associations between a strong PIT effect, high-risk drinking and alcohol use disorder. This study investigated whether susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control is linked to risky alcohol use in a community sample of 18-year-old male adults. Participants (N = 191) were instructed to 'collect good shells' and 'leave bad shells' during the presentation of appetitive (monetary reward), aversive (monetary loss) or neutral Pavlovian stimuli. We compared instrumental error rates (ER) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain responses between the congruent and incongruent conditions, as well as among high-risk and low-risk drinking groups. On average, individuals showed a substantial PIT effect, that is, increased ER when Pavlovian cues and instrumental stimuli were in conflict compared with congruent trials. Neural PIT correlates were found in the ventral striatum and the dorsomedial and lateral prefrontal cortices (lPFC). Importantly, high-risk drinking was associated with a stronger behavioural PIT effect, a decreased lPFC response and an increased neural response in the ventral striatum on the trend level. Moreover, high-risk drinkers showed weaker connectivity from the ventral striatum to the lPFC during incongruent trials. Our study links interference during PIT to drinking behaviour in healthy, young adults. High-risk drinkers showed higher susceptibility to Pavlovian cues, especially when they conflicted with instrumental behaviour, indicating lower interference control abilities. Increased activity in the ventral striatum (bottom-up), decreased lPFC response (top-down), and their altered interplay may contribute to poor interference control in the high-risk drinkers.}, language = {en} } @article{ChenHollunderGarbusowetal.2020, author = {Chen, Ke and Hollunder, Barbara and Garbusow, Maria and Sebold, Miriam and Heinz, Andreas}, title = {The physiological responses to acute stress in alcohol-dependent patients}, series = {European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology}, volume = {41}, journal = {European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, issn = {0924-977X}, doi = {10.1016/j.euroneuro.2020.09.003}, pages = {1 -- 15}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Dysregulation of physiological stress reactivity plays a key role in the development and relapse risk of alcohol dependence. This article reviews studies investigating physiological responses to experimentally induced acute stress in patients with alcohol dependence. A systematic search from electronic databases resulted in 3641 articles found and after screening 62 articles were included in our review. Studies are analyzed based on stress types (i.e., social stress tasks and nonsocial stress tasks) and physiological markers (i.e., the nervous system, the endocrine system, somatic responses and the immune system). In studies applying nonsocial stress tasks, alcohol-dependent patients were reported to show a blunted stress response compared with healthy controls in the majority of studies applying markers of adrenocorticotropic hormone and cortisol. In studies applying social stress tasks, findings are inconsistent, with less than half of the studies reporting altered physiological stress responses in patients. We discuss the impact of duration of abstinence, comorbidities, baseline physiological arousal and intervention on the discrepancy of study findings. Furthermore, we review evidence for an associationbetween blunted physiological stress responses and the relapse risk among patients with alcohol dependence. (c) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)}, language = {en} } @misc{DeekenReichertZechetal., author = {Deeken, Friederike and Reichert, Markus and Zech, Hilmar and Wenzel, Julia and Wedemeyer, Friederike and Aguilera, Alvaro and Aslan, Acelya and Bach, Patrick and Bahr, Nadja Samia and Ebrahimi, Claudia and Fischbach, Pascale Christine and Ganz, Marvin and Garbusow, Maria and Großkopf, Charlotte M. and Heigert, Marie and Hentschel, Angela and Karl, Damian and Pelz, Patricia and Pinger, Mathieu and Riemerschmid, Carlotta and Rosenthal, Annika and Steffen, Johannes and Strehle, Jens and Weiss, Franziska and Wieder, Gesine and Wieland, Alfred and Zaiser, Judith and Zimmermann, Sina and Walter, Henrik and Lenz, Bernd and Deserno, Lorenz and Smolka, Michael N. and Liu, Shuyan and Ebner-Priemer, Ulrich Walter and Heinz, Andreas and Rapp, Michael A.}, title = {Patterns of Alcohol Consumption Among Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdowns in Germany}, series = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {805}, issn = {1866-8364}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-57146}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-571460}, pages = {11}, abstract = {Importance Alcohol consumption (AC) leads to death and disability worldwide. Ongoing discussions on potential negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on AC need to be informed by real-world evidence. Objective To examine whether lockdown measures are associated with AC and consumption-related temporal and psychological within-person mechanisms. Design, Setting, and Participants This quantitative, intensive, longitudinal cohort study recruited 1743 participants from 3 sites from February 20, 2020, to February 28, 2021. Data were provided before and within the second lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany: before lockdown (October 2 to November 1, 2020); light lockdown (November 2 to December 15, 2020); and hard lockdown (December 16, 2020, to February 28, 2021). Main Outcomes and Measures Daily ratings of AC (main outcome) captured during 3 lockdown phases (main variable) and temporal (weekends and holidays) and psychological (social isolation and drinking intention) correlates. Results Of the 1743 screened participants, 189 (119 [63.0\%] male; median [IQR] age, 37 [27.5-52.0] years) with at least 2 alcohol use disorder (AUD) criteria according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) yet without the need for medically supervised alcohol withdrawal were included. These individuals provided 14 694 smartphone ratings from October 2020 through February 2021. Multilevel modeling revealed significantly higher AC (grams of alcohol per day) on weekend days vs weekdays (β = 11.39; 95\% CI, 10.00-12.77; P < .001). Alcohol consumption was above the overall average on Christmas (β = 26.82; 95\% CI, 21.87-31.77; P < .001) and New Year's Eve (β = 66.88; 95\% CI, 59.22-74.54; P < .001). During the hard lockdown, perceived social isolation was significantly higher (β = 0.12; 95\% CI, 0.06-0.15; P < .001), but AC was significantly lower (β = -5.45; 95\% CI, -8.00 to -2.90; P = .001). Independent of lockdown, intention to drink less alcohol was associated with lower AC (β = -11.10; 95\% CI, -13.63 to -8.58; P < .001). Notably, differences in AC between weekend and weekdays decreased both during the hard lockdown (β = -6.14; 95\% CI, -9.96 to -2.31; P = .002) and in participants with severe AUD (β = -6.26; 95\% CI, -10.18 to -2.34; P = .002). Conclusions and Relevance This 5-month cohort study found no immediate negative associations of lockdown measures with overall AC. Rather, weekend-weekday and holiday AC patterns exceeded lockdown effects. Differences in AC between weekend days and weekdays evinced that weekend drinking cycles decreased as a function of AUD severity and lockdown measures, indicating a potential mechanism of losing and regaining control. This finding suggests that temporal patterns and drinking intention constitute promising targets for prevention and intervention, even in high-risk individuals.}, language = {en} } @article{DeekenReichertZechetal.2022, author = {Deeken, Friederike and Reichert, Markus and Zech, Hilmar and Wenzel, Julia and Wedemeyer, Friederike and Aguilera, Alvaro and Aslan, Acelya and Bach, Patrick and Bahr, Nadja Samia and Ebrahimi, Claudia and Fischbach, Pascale Christine and Ganz, Marvin and Garbusow, Maria and Großkopf, Charlotte M. and Heigert, Marie and Hentschel, Angela and Karl, Damian and Pelz, Patricia and Pinger, Mathieu and Riemerschmid, Carlotta and Rosenthal, Annika and Steffen, Johannes and Strehle, Jens and Weiss,, Franziska and Wieder, Gesine and Wieland, Alfred and Zaiser, Judith and Zimmermann, Sina and Walter, Henrik and Lenz, Bernd and Deserno, Lorenz and Smolka, Michael N. and Liu, Shuyan and Ebner-Priemer, Ulrich Walter and Heinz, Andreas and Rapp, Michael A.}, title = {Patterns of Alcohol Consumption Among Individuals With Alcohol Use Disorder During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Lockdowns in Germany}, series = {JAMA Network Open}, volume = {5}, journal = {JAMA Network Open}, edition = {8}, publisher = {JAMA Network / American Medical Association}, address = {Chicago, Illinois, USA}, issn = {2574-3805}, doi = {10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.24641}, pages = {1 -- 11}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Importance Alcohol consumption (AC) leads to death and disability worldwide. Ongoing discussions on potential negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on AC need to be informed by real-world evidence. Objective To examine whether lockdown measures are associated with AC and consumption-related temporal and psychological within-person mechanisms. Design, Setting, and Participants This quantitative, intensive, longitudinal cohort study recruited 1743 participants from 3 sites from February 20, 2020, to February 28, 2021. Data were provided before and within the second lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany: before lockdown (October 2 to November 1, 2020); light lockdown (November 2 to December 15, 2020); and hard lockdown (December 16, 2020, to February 28, 2021). Main Outcomes and Measures Daily ratings of AC (main outcome) captured during 3 lockdown phases (main variable) and temporal (weekends and holidays) and psychological (social isolation and drinking intention) correlates. Results Of the 1743 screened participants, 189 (119 [63.0\%] male; median [IQR] age, 37 [27.5-52.0] years) with at least 2 alcohol use disorder (AUD) criteria according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) yet without the need for medically supervised alcohol withdrawal were included. These individuals provided 14 694 smartphone ratings from October 2020 through February 2021. Multilevel modeling revealed significantly higher AC (grams of alcohol per day) on weekend days vs weekdays (β = 11.39; 95\% CI, 10.00-12.77; P < .001). Alcohol consumption was above the overall average on Christmas (β = 26.82; 95\% CI, 21.87-31.77; P < .001) and New Year's Eve (β = 66.88; 95\% CI, 59.22-74.54; P < .001). During the hard lockdown, perceived social isolation was significantly higher (β = 0.12; 95\% CI, 0.06-0.15; P < .001), but AC was significantly lower (β = -5.45; 95\% CI, -8.00 to -2.90; P = .001). Independent of lockdown, intention to drink less alcohol was associated with lower AC (β = -11.10; 95\% CI, -13.63 to -8.58; P < .001). Notably, differences in AC between weekend and weekdays decreased both during the hard lockdown (β = -6.14; 95\% CI, -9.96 to -2.31; P = .002) and in participants with severe AUD (β = -6.26; 95\% CI, -10.18 to -2.34; P = .002). Conclusions and Relevance This 5-month cohort study found no immediate negative associations of lockdown measures with overall AC. Rather, weekend-weekday and holiday AC patterns exceeded lockdown effects. Differences in AC between weekend days and weekdays evinced that weekend drinking cycles decreased as a function of AUD severity and lockdown measures, indicating a potential mechanism of losing and regaining control. This finding suggests that temporal patterns and drinking intention constitute promising targets for prevention and intervention, even in high-risk individuals.}, language = {en} } @article{GarbusowEbrahimiRiemerschmidetal.2022, author = {Garbusow, Maria and Ebrahimi, Claudia and Riemerschmid, Carlotta and Daldrup, Luisa and Rothkirch, Marcus and Chen, Ke and Chen, Hao and Belanger, Matthew J. and Hentschel, Angela and Smolka, Michael and Heinz, Andreas and Pilhatsch, Maximilan and Rapp, Michael A.}, title = {Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer across mental disorders}, series = {Neuropsychobiology : international journal of experimental and clinical research in biological psychiatry, pharmacopsychiatry, Biological Psychology/Pharmacopsychology and Pharmacoelectroencephalography}, volume = {81}, journal = {Neuropsychobiology : international journal of experimental and clinical research in biological psychiatry, pharmacopsychiatry, Biological Psychology/Pharmacopsychology and Pharmacoelectroencephalography}, number = {5}, publisher = {Karger}, address = {Basel}, issn = {0302-282X}, doi = {10.1159/000525579}, pages = {418 -- 437}, year = {2022}, abstract = {A mechanism known as Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) describes a phenomenon by which the values of environmental cues acquired through Pavlovian conditioning can motivate instrumental behavior. PIT may be one basic mechanism of action control that can characterize mental disorders on a dimensional level beyond current classification systems. Therefore, we review human PIT studies investigating subclinical and clinical mental syndromes. The literature prevails an inhomogeneous picture concerning PIT. While enhanced PIT effects seem to be present in non-substance-related disorders, overweight people, and most studies with AUD patients, no altered PIT effects were reported in tobacco use disorder and obesity. Regarding AUD and relapsing alcohol-dependent patients, there is mixed evidence of enhanced or no PIT effects. Additionally, there is evidence for aberrant corticostriatal activation and genetic risk, e.g., in association with high-risk alcohol consumption and relapse after alcohol detoxification. In patients with anorexia nervosa, stronger PIT effects elicited by low caloric stimuli were associated with increased disease severity. In patients with depression, enhanced aversive PIT effects and a loss of action-specificity associated with poorer treatment outcomes were reported. Schizophrenic patients showed disrupted specific but intact general PIT effects. Patients with chronic back pain showed reduced PIT effects. We provide possible reasons to understand heterogeneity in PIT effects within and across mental disorders. Further, we strengthen the importance of reliable experimental tasks and provide test-retest data of a PIT task showing moderate to good reliability. Finally, we point toward stress as a possible underlying factor that may explain stronger PIT effects in mental disorders, as there is some evidence that stress per se interacts with the impact of environmental cues on behavior by selectively increasing cue-triggered wanting. To conclude, we discuss the results of the literature review in the light of Research Domain Criteria, suggesting future studies that comprehensively assess PIT across psychopathological dimensions.}, language = {en} } @misc{GarbusowNebeSommeretal.2019, author = {Garbusow, Maria and Nebe, Stephan and Sommer, Christian and Kuitunen-Paul, S{\"o}ren and Sebold, Miriam and Schad, Daniel and Friedel, Eva and Veer, Ilya M. and Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich and Rapp, Michael A. and Ripke, Stephan and Walter, Henrik and Huys, Quentin J. M. and Schlagenhauf, Florian and Smolka, Michael N. and Heinz, Andreas}, title = {Pavlovian-To-Instrumental Transfer and Alcohol Consumption in Young Male Social Drinkers}, series = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe}, journal = {Zweitver{\"o}ffentlichungen der Universit{\"a}t Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe}, number = {841}, issn = {1866-8364}, doi = {10.25932/publishup-47328}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-473280}, pages = {14}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In animals and humans, behavior can be influenced by irrelevant stimuli, a phenomenon called Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT). In subjects with substance use disorder, PIT is even enhanced with functional activation in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and amygdala. While we observed enhanced behavioral and neural PIT effects in alcohol-dependent subjects, we here aimed to determine whether behavioral PIT is enhanced in young men with high-risk compared to low-risk drinking and subsequently related functional activation in an a-priori region of interest encompassing the NAcc and amygdala and related to polygenic risk for alcohol consumption. A representative sample of 18-year old men (n = 1937) was contacted: 445 were screened, 209 assessed: resulting in 191 valid behavioral, 139 imaging and 157 genetic datasets. None of the subjects fulfilled criteria for alcohol dependence according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-TextRevision (DSM-IV-TR). We measured how instrumental responding for rewards was influenced by background Pavlovian conditioned stimuli predicting action-independent rewards and losses. Behavioral PIT was enhanced in high-compared to low-risk drinkers (b = 0.09, SE = 0.03, z = 2.7, p < 0.009). Across all subjects, we observed PIT-related neural blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal in the right amygdala (t = 3.25, p(SVC) = 0.04, x = 26, y = -6, z = -12), but not in NAcc. The strength of the behavioral PIT effect was positively correlated with polygenic risk for alcohol consumption (r(s) = 0.17, p = 0.032). We conclude that behavioral PIT and polygenic risk for alcohol consumption might be a biomarker for a subclinical phenotype of risky alcohol consumption, even if no drug-related stimulus is present. The association between behavioral PIT effects and the amygdala might point to habitual processes related to out PIT task. In non-dependent young social drinkers, the amygdala rather than the NAcc is activated during PIT; possible different involvement in association with disease trajectory should be investigated in future studies.}, language = {en} } @article{GarbusowNebeSommeretal.2019, author = {Garbusow, Maria and Nebe, Stephan and Sommer, Christian and Kuitunen-Paul, S{\"o}ren and Sebold, Miriam and Schad, Daniel and Friedel, Eva and Veer, Ilya M. and Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich and Rapp, Michael A. and Ripke, Stephan and Walter, Henrik and Huys, Quentin J. M. and Schlagenhauf, Florian and Smolka, Michael N. and Heinz, Andreas}, title = {Pavlovian-To-Instrumental Transfer and Alcohol Consumption in Young Male Social Drinkers}, series = {Journal of Clinical Medicine}, volume = {8}, journal = {Journal of Clinical Medicine}, number = {8}, publisher = {MDPI}, address = {Basel}, issn = {2077-0383}, doi = {10.3390/jcm8081188}, pages = {14}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In animals and humans, behavior can be influenced by irrelevant stimuli, a phenomenon called Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT). In subjects with substance use disorder, PIT is even enhanced with functional activation in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and amygdala. While we observed enhanced behavioral and neural PIT effects in alcohol-dependent subjects, we here aimed to determine whether behavioral PIT is enhanced in young men with high-risk compared to low-risk drinking and subsequently related functional activation in an a-priori region of interest encompassing the NAcc and amygdala and related to polygenic risk for alcohol consumption. A representative sample of 18-year old men (n = 1937) was contacted: 445 were screened, 209 assessed: resulting in 191 valid behavioral, 139 imaging and 157 genetic datasets. None of the subjects fulfilled criteria for alcohol dependence according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV-TextRevision (DSM-IV-TR). We measured how instrumental responding for rewards was influenced by background Pavlovian conditioned stimuli predicting action-independent rewards and losses. Behavioral PIT was enhanced in high-compared to low-risk drinkers (b = 0.09, SE = 0.03, z = 2.7, p < 0.009). Across all subjects, we observed PIT-related neural blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal in the right amygdala (t = 3.25, p(SVC) = 0.04, x = 26, y = -6, z = -12), but not in NAcc. The strength of the behavioral PIT effect was positively correlated with polygenic risk for alcohol consumption (r(s) = 0.17, p = 0.032). We conclude that behavioral PIT and polygenic risk for alcohol consumption might be a biomarker for a subclinical phenotype of risky alcohol consumption, even if no drug-related stimulus is present. The association between behavioral PIT effects and the amygdala might point to habitual processes related to out PIT task. In non-dependent young social drinkers, the amygdala rather than the NAcc is activated during PIT; possible different involvement in association with disease trajectory should be investigated in future studies.}, language = {en} } @article{GarbusowSchadSeboldetal.2016, author = {Garbusow, Maria and Schad, Daniel and Sebold, Miriam and Friedel, Eva and Bernhardt, Nadine and Koch, Stefan P. and Steinacher, Bruno and Kathmann, Norbert and Geurts, Dirk E. M. and Sommer, Christian and Mueller, Dirk K. and Nebe, Stephan and Paul, Soeren and Wittchen, Hans-Ulrich and Zimmermann, Ulrich S. and Walter, Henrik and Smolka, Michael N. and Sterzer, Philipp and Rapp, Michael A. and Huys, Quentin J. M. and Schlagenhauf, Florian and Heinz, Andreas}, title = {Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer effects in the nucleus accumbens relate to relapse in alcohol dependence}, series = {Addiction biology}, volume = {21}, journal = {Addiction biology}, publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell}, address = {Hoboken}, issn = {1355-6215}, doi = {10.1111/adb.12243}, pages = {719 -- 731}, year = {2016}, abstract = {In detoxified alcohol-dependent patients, alcohol-related stimuli can promote relapse. However, to date, the mechanisms by which contextual stimuli promote relapse have not been elucidated in detail. One hypothesis is that such contextual stimuli directly stimulate the motivation to drink via associated brain regions like the ventral striatum and thus promote alcohol seeking, intake and relapse. Pavlovian-to-Instrumental-Transfer (PIT) may be one of those behavioral phenomena contributing to relapse, capturing how Pavlovian conditioned (contextual) cues determine instrumental behavior (e.g. alcohol seeking and intake). We used a PIT paradigm during functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the effects of classically conditioned Pavlovian stimuli on instrumental choices in n=31 detoxified patients diagnosed with alcohol dependence and n=24 healthy controls matched for age and gender. Patients were followed up over a period of 3 months. We observed that (1) there was a significant behavioral PIT effect for all participants, which was significantly more pronounced in alcohol-dependent patients; (2) PIT was significantly associated with blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signals in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) in subsequent relapsers only; and (3) PIT-related NAcc activation was associated with, and predictive of, critical outcomes (amount of alcohol intake and relapse during a 3 months follow-up period) in alcohol-dependent patients. These observations show for the first time that PIT-related BOLD signals, as a measure of the influence of Pavlovian cues on instrumental behavior, predict alcohol intake and relapse in alcohol dependence.}, language = {en} }