Abstract
Background
We used positron emission tomography imaging with [11C]raclopride to examine the effects of consumption of alcohol or placebo beverage
by participants with alcohol use disorder (AUD) compared with healthy participants
with and without family history of AUD. We sought to assess dopamine release following
alcohol exposure in relation to AUD risk.
Methods
Three groups were enrolled: participants with AUD (n = 15) and healthy participants with family history negative (n = 34) or positive (n = 16) for AUD. Participants consumed a placebo (n = 65) or alcohol (n = 63) beverage in counterbalanced order before positron emission tomography scanning
(128 scans). Binding potential (BPND) in the two drink conditions and the percent change in BPND between conditions were evaluated across striatal subregions. Subjective effects
of beverage consumption were rated. Effects of group, drink order, and sex were evaluated.
Results
Alcohol resulted in greater dopamine release than did placebo in the ventral striatum
(p < .001). There were no main effects of group, drink order, or sex on ventral striatum
BPND or percent change in BPND. However, there was a drink order-by-group interaction (p = .02) whereby family history–positive participants who received placebo first had
both lower placebo BPND and less difference between placebo and alcohol BPND than all other groups, consistent with expectation of alcohol powerfully evoking
dopamine release in this group. Subjective responses showed the same order-by-group
interaction.
Conclusions
Hyper-responsivity of the dopaminergic system in family history–positive participants
to expectation of alcohol may contribute to the expression of familial risk for AUD.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 20, 2018
Accepted:
March 26,
2018
Received in revised form:
March 7,
2018
Received:
December 4,
2017
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
