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Alcohol Dependence and Gender: An fMRI Pilot Study Examining Affective Processing

Padula, Claudia B.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1298322572

Abstract Details

2011, MA, University of Cincinnati, Arts and Sciences: Psychology.
Alcohol dependence (AD) has global effects on brain structure and function, including frontolimbic regions regulating affective processing. Preliminary evidence suggests alcohol is associated with blunted limbic response to negative affective stimuli and increased activation to positive affective stimuli. Gender differences have also been found in neural correlates of facial affective processing. No studies to date have characterized the independent and interactive effects of AD and gender on the neuronal correlates of affective processing. Therefore, the current study examined whether AD group status, gender and AD*gender interaction predict brain response to happy and fearful affect during a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task. Brain regions that differed by AD status were also examined in relation to mood symptoms and coping strategies. Fourteen abstinent AD individuals (8F, 6M) and 14 healthy controls (9F, 5M), ages 23 to 60, were included in this IRB-approved study. Participants performed a facial affective processing fMRI task. Whole-brain linear regression analyses were performed to extract clusters that yielded significant group, gender, and group-by-gender interaction results for fearful and happy affective processing. Follow-up analyses examined whether brain activation in regions that significantly differed according to AD status or AD*gender interactions significantly predicted depressive symptoms and/or coping styles. Results revealed that during the fearful condition, the AD group demonstrated reduced BOLD response compared with the control group in the right medial frontal gyrus. Gender analyses demonstrated that females had increased BOLD response during fearful faces in left superior temporal gyrus and right inferior frontal gyrus compared to males. Gender moderated the effects of AD in left and right inferior frontal gyri during the fearful condition. During the happy condition AD individuals had increased BOLD response in right thalamus. Also, females activated more in left hippocampus, but less in right insula and left superior temporal gyrus, as compared to males. Gender moderated the effects of AD in left caudate, right middle frontal gyrus, left paracentral lobule, and right lingual gyrus activation during happy faces. Interactive effects for fearful and happy faces were in the same direction: AD males activated more than male controls, but AD females activated less than female controls. Follow up analysis revealed that planful problem solving coping predicted greater BOLD activation in right medial frontal gyrus during the fearful condition in the AD group. Abnormal affective processing in AD individuals may be markers of risk for alcohol problems or consequences of prolonged alcohol exposure. Subtle gender differences were observed, and gender moderated the effects of chronic alcohol exposure on the neural substrates of affective processing. AD individuals with stronger planful problem solving skills had brain activation patterns that were more similar to controls during fearful condition. Although the current pilot study had several limitations, results help elucidate the effects of chronic alcohol exposure, gender and their interaction on facial affective processing, and how coping ability may buffer the effect of alcohol dependence, but future research is needed.
Krista Medina, PhD (Committee Chair)
Robert Anthenelli, MD (Committee Member)
Paula Shear, PhD (Committee Member)
60 p.
Psychology
alcohol dependence; fMRI; affective processing; gender; fearful; happy

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Padula, C. B. (2011). Alcohol Dependence and Gender: An fMRI Pilot Study Examining Affective Processing [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1298322572

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Padula, Claudia. Alcohol Dependence and Gender: An fMRI Pilot Study Examining Affective Processing. 2011. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1298322572.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Padula, Claudia. "Alcohol Dependence and Gender: An fMRI Pilot Study Examining Affective Processing." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2011. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1298322572

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1298322572
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This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.