Neural Correlates of Implicit Processes of Attention & Emotion in Alcoholism

描述(由申请人提供)：抑制控制功能受损和持续目标导向行为的缺陷长期以来一直被认为是酒精中毒的关键特征。酒精使用障碍(AUD)也与情绪处理的异常有关，一些研究报告称，参与杏仁核的选择性大脑系统在体验负面情绪的倾向和促进酒精摄入方面发挥了关键作用。描述自愿认知控制(被认为是一个需要分配注意资源的外显或“自上而下”的过程)和情绪反应(被认为是一个内隐的或“自下而上”的过程)之间的相互作用，是理解针对酒精滥用的行为调节和情绪动机行为的基础。过量饮酒在多大程度上导致认知控制缺陷或增强的自动反应尚不清楚，但可以通过呈现充满情感的刺激来进行实验验证。我们最近的行为研究表明，慢性酗酒者对多余感觉信息的自下而上加工受到干扰，对冲突解决的自上而下控制受到损害，为拟议的研究奠定了基础。该项目的主要目标是通过使用功能磁共振成像(FMRI)、常规磁共振成像(MRI)和扩散张量成像(DTI)等非侵入性的活体方法来研究大脑的功能、宏观和微观结构，以确定酒精中毒患者情绪和认知的隐含自下而上影响和自上而下调节的神经关联。这项建议的具体目的是：(1)确定慢性酒精中毒患者在注意-情绪调节的组成部分过程中与对照组的不同之处；(2)用功能磁共振成像确定酒精中毒患者注意-情绪系统的神经关联；(3)确定酒精中毒对局部脑微结构状态(DTI)、脑功能网络(FMRI)、灰质焦点(MRI)和操作测量之间关系的影响。我们提出了一系列注意-情绪加工的行为、结构和功能磁共振研究，以检验酗酒者选择性地扰乱或保留自下而上和注意自上而下的情绪刺激控制加工的程度。识别注意力和情绪神经系统紊乱的来源应该有助于理解行为的内隐和外显控制的影响，并对开发干预措施以改善AUD患者的认知行为治疗具有重要意义。 与公共健康相关：酗酒者，即使在戒酒的时候，也经常不得不自愿控制以抑制饮酒的冲动。这项建议的目的是利用大脑成像来了解饮酒冲动的神经基础及其控制，这反过来可能导致保持清醒和防止复发的治疗。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Deficits in impaired inhibitory control functions and in sustained goal-directed behavior have long been identified as key features of alcoholism. Alcohol-use disorders (AUD) are also associated with abnormalities in emotional processing, with a number of studies reporting that selective brain systems that engage the amygdala play a crucial role in a tendency to experience negative emotion and in promoting alcohol intake. Delineation of the interplay between voluntary cognitive control (conceived as an explicit or "top-down" process that require allocation of attentional resources) and emotional responsiveness (conceived as an implicit or "bottom-up" process) is fundamental for understanding behavioral regulation and emotionally motivated actions towards alcohol misuse. The extent to which excessive alcohol use contributes to deficits in cognitive control or to enhanced automatic responsiveness is unknown but can be interrogated experimentally by presentation of affectively laden stimuli. Our recent behavioral studies indicate both disturbed bottom-up processing of redundant sensory information and impaired top-down control of conflict resolution in chronic alcoholics, and lay the foundation for the proposed studies. The primary goal of this project is to identify the neural correlates of implicit bottom-up influences and top-down regulation of emotion and cognition in alcoholism through the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), conventional MRI, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), noninvasive, in vivo methods for studying the functional, macrostructural, and microstructural architecture of the brain. The specific aims of this proposal are to (1) determine how chronic alcoholics differ from controls in component processes of attention-emotion regulation, (2) identify the neural correlates of attention-emotion systems in alcoholism with fMRI, and (3) determine the effects of alcoholism on relationships among regional microstructural brain status (DTI), functional brain networks (fMRI), gray matter foci (MRI), and performance measures. We propose a series of behavioral, structural, and functional MRI studies of attention-emotion processing to examine the extent to which alcoholics have selectively disrupted or preserved automatic bottom-up and attentional top-down control processing of emotional stimuli. The identification of sources of disruption of neural systems of attention and emotion should lead to an understanding of the impact of implicit and explicit control of behavior and has implications for developing interventions for improving cognitive behavioral therapies in individuals with AUD. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Alcoholics, even when abstinent, often have to exert voluntary control to suppress the urge to drink. The purpose of this proposal is to use brain imaging to understand the neural basis of the drive to alcoholic drinking and its control, which in turn may lead to treatments for maintaining sobriety and preventing relapse.