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Cue-induced activation of the striatum and medial prefrontal cortex is associated with subsequent relapse in abstinent alcoholics

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Abstract

Rationale

Animal experiments have provided evidence that the striatum and medial prefrontal cortex play a predominant role in the acquisition and maintenance of drug-seeking behavior.

Objectives

Alcohol-associated stimuli that were regularly paired with alcohol intake may become conditioned cues and elicit a motivational response that triggers relapse in alcohol-dependent patients.

Methods

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging and visual alcohol-associated and control cues to assess brain activation in ten abstinent alcoholics and control subjects. Patients were followed for 3 months, and alcohol intake was recorded.

Results

Alcohol-related versus neutral visual stimuli activated the putamen, anterior cingulate and adjacent medial prefrontal cortex in alcoholics compared with healthy controls. Cue-induced activation of these brain areas was pronounced in the five alcoholics who subsequently relapsed during the observation period. A multiple regression analysis showed that, in alcoholics, the amount of subsequent alcohol intake was associated with the intensity of cue-induced brain activation but not the severity of alcohol craving, amount of previous alcohol intake or duration of abstinence before scanning.

Conclusions

This pilot study showed that cue-induced activation of the anterior cingulate, medial prefrontal cortex and striatum may play a role in the attribution of incentive salience to alcohol-associated stimuli, thus increasing the motivational value and attentional processing of alcohol cues. Functional brain imaging may help to identify a group of alcoholics with an otherwise undetected high risk of relapse.

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Acknowledgments

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (He 2597/4-1&4-2) supported this study. We thank Mary J. Breiner (Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL) for provision of some pictures of alcoholic and neutral beverages.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Psychology, Campus Charité Mitte, Charité—University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Sabine M. Grüsser

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité—University Medicine Berlin, Schumannstr. 20/21, 10117, Berlin, Germany

    Jana Wrase & Andreas Heinz

  3. Department of Addictive Behavior and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany

    Sabine Klein, Derik Hermann, Michael N. Smolka & Karl Mann

  4. Department of NMR-Research in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany

    Matthias Ruf

  5. Department of Neuropsychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany

    Herta Flor

  6. Neuroimage Nord, Department of Psychiatry, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Wolfgang Weber-Fahr & Dieter F. Braus

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  1. Sabine M. Grüsser
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  2. Jana Wrase
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  9. Karl Mann
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  10. Dieter F. Braus
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  11. Andreas Heinz
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Correspondence to Andreas Heinz.

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Grüsser, S.M., Wrase, J., Klein, S. et al. Cue-induced activation of the striatum and medial prefrontal cortex is associated with subsequent relapse in abstinent alcoholics. Psychopharmacology 175, 296–302 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-004-1828-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-004-1828-4

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