Alcohol consumption during adolescence might impede normal brain development, while more excessive drinking during this period poses a risk for developing alcohol use disorder. Here it was tested whether nucleus accumbens (NAcc) resting-state functional connectivity could be associated with lifetime drinking behavior in young adults, and whether it could predict their alcohol consumption during a one-year follow-up period. The current investigation was part of the bicentric Learning and Alcohol Dependence (LeAD) population-based prospective cohort study. One hundred and eighty-four 18-year-old male social drinking volunteers without a lifetime diagnosis of psychotic, bipolar, or alcohol use disorder were recruited from the general population. Seed-based resting-state functional connectivity was calculated for the bilateral NAcc in each participant. Across the group, the association between NAcc functional connectivity and lifetime alcohol consumption was assessed (p < .05, whole-brain FWE-corrected). Individual connectivity values were then extracted from regions that demonstrated a significant association to predict drinking behavior during a one-year follow-up period (n = 143), correcting for lifetime alcohol consumption. Weaker connectivity between the left NAcc and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, left caudate nucleus, left putamen, and left insula was associated with greater lifetime alcohol consumption, as well as with greater alcohol consumption during the one-year follow-up period. Our findings underscore the relevance of fronto-striatal connectivity to the field of alcohol research. Impaired prefrontal cognitive control might mediate excessive drinking behavior and may prove a promising biomarker for risk of future alcohol (ab)use.

中文翻译：

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休息时伏隔核的连通性与年轻男性的饮酒量有关

青春期饮酒可能会阻碍正常的大脑发育，而在此期间过度饮酒则有患酒精使用障碍的风险。在这里测试了伏隔核 (NAcc) 静息状态功能连接是否与年轻人的终生饮酒行为有关，以及它是否可以预测他们在一年的随访期间的饮酒量。目前的调查是双中心学习和酒精依赖 (LeAD) 基于人群的前瞻性队列研究的一部分。从一般人群中招募了 184 名 18 岁的男性社交饮酒志愿者，他们一生都没有被诊断为精神病、双相情感障碍或酒精使用障碍。计算每个参与者双侧 NAcc 的基于种子的静息状态功能连接。在整个组中，评估了 NAcc 功能连接与终生饮酒之间的关联（p < .05，全脑 FWE 校正）。然后从显示出与预测一年随访期间（n = 143）饮酒行为显着关联的区域中提取个体连通性值，校正终生饮酒量。左 NAcc 与双侧背外侧前额叶皮层、下额回、左尾状核、左壳核和左脑岛之间的连接较弱与终生饮酒量增加以及一年随访期间饮酒量增加有关. 我们的研究结果强调了额纹状体连接与酒精研究领域的相关性。