Neuromodulation Applications in Alcohol Use Disorder

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1. Development of fMRI Neurofeedback During the past three years we have worked with collaborators in NIMH and developed and implemented several neurofeedback prototypes for the Siemens 3T Prisma scanner. We have completed stage 1 of this study and continuing our recruitment for stage 2 of the study from the AUD inpatient behavioral unit. According to our results participants had more successful trials after 3 runs of practice, as well as improved downregulation of the insula, anterior cingulate, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Greater downregulation of the latter two regions predicted greater reduction in craving. The manuscript detailing the analysis of stage 1 data is completed. 2. TMS Neuromodulation of Negative Urgency We had planned to initiate another collaborative (Dr. Atlas) study in order to assess how negative urgency relates to impulsive decision-making in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD); and to characterize the associated hemodynamic response in prefrontal areas using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) imaging. Due to COVID-19 restrictions the preparation of laboratory space for this project has been delayed. Upon completion of the pilot study, we will test whether negative urgency can be modulated via prefrontal stimulation using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), as this technique has been shown to affect top-down regulatory circuits (prefrontal-limbic) during emotion regulation and impulsive decision-making, which are the two key components of negative urgency.