Aims The addiction neurocircuitry model describes the role of several brain circuits (drug reward, negative emotionality and craving/executive control) in alcohol use and subsequent development of alcohol use disorder (AUD). Human studies examining longitudinal change using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) are needed to understand how functional changes to these circuits are caused by or contribute to continued AUD. Methods In order to characterize how intrinsic functional connectivity changes with sustained AUD, we analyzed rs-fMRI data from individuals with (n = 18; treatment seeking and non-treatment seeking) and without (n = 21) AUD collected on multiple visits as part of various research studies at the NIAAA intramural program from 2012 to 2020. Results Results of the seed correlation analysis showed that individuals with AUD had an increase in functional connectivity over time between emotionality and craving neurocircuits, and a decrease between executive control and reward networks. Post hoc investigations of AUD severity and alcohol consumption between scans revealed an additive effect of these AUD features in many of the circuits, such that more alcohol consumption or more severe AUD was associated with more pronounced changes to synchronicity. Conclusions These findings suggest an increased concordance of networks underlying emotionality and compulsions toward drinking while also a reduction in control network connectivity, consistent with the addiction neurocircuitry model. Further, they suggest a compounding effect of continued heavy drinking on these vulnerabilities in neurocircuitry. More longitudinal research is necessary to understand the trajectories of individuals with AUD not adequately represented in this study, as well as whether this can inform effective harm reduction strategies.

中文翻译：

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成瘾神经回路的复合脆弱性：酒精使用障碍的纵向功能连接变化

目的 成瘾神经回路模型描述了几种大脑回路（药物奖励、负面情绪和渴望/执行控制）在酒精使用和酒精使用障碍 (AUD) 的后续发展中的作用。需要使用静息态功能磁共振成像 (rs-fMRI) 检查纵向变化的人体研究，以了解这些回路的功能变化是如何由持续的 AUD 引起或促成的。方法 为了描述内在功能连接如何随持续 AUD 变化，我们分析了多次访视时收集的患有 AUD（n = 18；寻求治疗和不寻求治疗）和不患有 AUD（n = 21）的个体的 rs-fMRI 数据，作为一部分2012 年至 2020 年 NIAAA 校内项目的各种研究。结果种子相关分析的结果表明，随着时间的推移，患有 AUD 的个体情绪和渴望神经回路之间的功能连接增加，而执行控制和奖励网络之间的功能连接减少。对 AUD 严重程度和扫描之间饮酒量的事后调查显示，这些 AUD 特征在许多回路中具有累加效应，因此更多的饮酒量或更严重的 AUD 与更明显的同步性变化相关。结论 这些发现表明，情绪和饮酒强迫行为背后的网络一致性增加，同时控制网络连接性也减少，这与成瘾神经回路模型一致。更远，他们认为，持续大量饮酒会对神经回路的这些脆弱性产生复合效应。有必要进行更多的纵向研究，以了解本研究中未充分代表的 AUD 个体的轨迹，以及这是否可以为有效的减少伤害策略提供信息。