TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2014//
TI  - Alcohol-induced impairment of inhibitory control is linked to attenuated brain responses in right fronto-temporal cortex
JO  - Biological psychiatry
A1  - Gan, Gabriela
A1  - Guevara, Alvaro
A1  - Marxen, Michael
A1  - Neumann, Maike
A1  - Jünger, Elisabeth
A1  - Kobiella, Andrea
A1  - Mennigen, Eva
A1  - Pilhatsch, Maximilian
A1  - Schwarz, Daniel
A1  - Zimmermann, Ulrich S.
A1  - Smolka, Michael N.
SP  - 698
EP  - 707
VL  - 76
IS  - 9
N2  - BACKGROUND: A self-enhancing loop between impaired inhibitory control under alcohol and alcohol consumption has been proposed as a possible mechanism underlying dysfunctional drinking in susceptible people. However, the neural underpinnings of alcohol-induced impairment of inhibitory control are widely unknown. METHODS: We measured inhibitory control in 50 young adults with a stop-signal task during functional magnetic resonance imaging. In a single-blind placebo-controlled cross-over design, all participants performed the stop-signal task once under alcohol with a breath alcohol concentration of .6 g/kg and once under placebo. In addition, alcohol consumption was assessed with a free-access alcohol self-administration paradigm in the same participants. RESULTS: Inhibitory control was robustly decreased under alcohol compared with placebo, indicated by longer stop-signal reaction times. On the neural level, impaired inhibitory control under alcohol was associated with attenuated brain responses in the right fronto-temporal portion of the inhibition network that supports the attentional capture of infrequent stop-signals and subsequent updating of action plans from response execution to inhibition. Furthermore, the extent of alcohol-induced impairment of inhibitory control predicted free-access alcohol consumption. CONCLUSIONS: We suggest that during inhibitory control alcohol affects cognitive processes preceding actual motor inhibition. Under alcohol, decreased brain responses in right fronto-temporal areas might slow down the attentional capture of infrequent stop-signals and subsequent updating of action plans, which leads to impaired inhibitory control. In turn, pronounced alcohol-induced impairment of inhibitory control might enhance alcohol consumption in young adults, which might promote future alcohol problems.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0006-3223
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.12.017
ID  - ref1
ER  -