Alcohol expectancies mediate the association between the neural response to emotional words and alcohol consumption

• Published in: Drug and alcohol dependence 2020-04, Vol.209, p.107882-107882, Article 107882
• Main Authors: Brislin, Sarah J., Hardee, Jillian E., Martz, Meghan E., Cope, Lora M., Weigard, Alexander, Zucker, Robert A., Heitzeg, Mary M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Activation; Adolescent; Alcohol; Alcohol Drinking - psychology; Alcohol Drinking - trends; Alcohol related disorders; Alcohol use; Alcoholic beverages; Alcoholism; Alcohols; Anticipation, Psychological - physiology; Brain; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain - physiology; Child & adolescent psychiatry; Drinking behavior; Drinks; Emotion; Emotional regulation; Emotional words; Emotionality; Emotions; Emotions - physiology; Female; fMRI; Frontal gyrus; Humans; Internalization; Internalizing disorders; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical imaging; Neuroimaging; Photic Stimulation - methods; Positive alcohol expectancies; Risk analysis; Risk factors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Word Association Tests; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0376-8716; 1879-0046
• DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2020.107882

•Less inferior frontal activation to negative words associated with more alcohol use.•Less inferior frontal activation also associated with positive alcohol expectancies.•Alcohol expectancies mediated the association between brain response and drinking. Both positive expectancies regarding the effects of alcohol and internalizing problems, including negative emotionality and deficits in emotion regulation, are known risk factors for alcohol use disorder (AUD). The current study is the first to investigate how neural response to emotional stimuli may impact alcohol expectancies and risk for AUD. Functional neuroimaging data was collected during an emotional word task from 168 emerging adults (M age = 19.65; 66% male). Activation to negative versus neutral words and positive versus neutral words was extracted for analyses. Participants also reported on their alcohol expectancies and information regarding alcohol use and problems was collected prospectively throughout adolescence and into adulthood (up to age 30). Decreased activation in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) to negative versus neutral words was associated with increased post-scan alcohol consumption, measured as average drinks per year. There was a significant indirect effect of positive alcohol expectancies on the association between IFG activation and post-scan alcohol consumption, even when controlling for quantity of alcohol consumption prior to the scan. These results are the first to provide evidence that positive alcohol expectancies account for variance shared between brain regions associated with emotion processing and increased drinking behaviors. Alcohol expectancies may provide a modifiable target for treatments to decrease the link between deficits in emotion regulation and increased alcohol use.