Reduced cerebellar brain activity during reward processing in adolescent binge drinkers

Dev Cogn Neurosci. 2015 Dec:16:110-120. doi: 10.1016/j.dcn.2015.06.004. Epub 2015 Jun 30.

Abstract

Due to ongoing development, adolescence may be a period of heightened vulnerability to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol. Binge drinking may alter reward-driven behavior and neurocircuitry, thereby increasing risk for escalating alcohol use. Therefore, we compared reward processing in adolescents with and without a history of recent binge drinking. At their baseline study visit, all participants (age=14.86 ± 0.88) were free of heavy alcohol use and completed a modified version of the Wheel of Fortune (WOF) functional magnetic resonance imaging task. Following this visit, 17 youth reported binge drinking on ≥3 occasions within a 90 day period and were matched to 17 youth who remained alcohol and substance-naïve. All participants repeated the WOF task during a second visit (age=16.83 ± 1.22). No significant effects were found in a region of interest analysis of the ventral striatum, but whole-brain analyses showed significant group differences in reward response at the second study visit in the left cerebellum, controlling for baseline visit brain activity (p/α<0.05), which was negatively correlated with mean number of drinks consumed/drinking day in the last 90 days. These findings suggest that binge drinking during adolescence may alter brain activity during reward processing in a dose-dependent manner.

Keywords: Adolescence; Alcohol; Binge; Cerebellum; Reward.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adolescent Behavior / drug effects
  • Binge Drinking / physiopathology*
  • Binge Drinking / psychology*
  • Cerebellum / physiopathology*
  • Child
  • Dose-Response Relationship, Drug
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Neuroimaging
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Psychomotor Performance / drug effects
  • Reward*
  • Socioeconomic Factors
  • Ventral Striatum / physiopathology