Aversive childhood experiences (ACE) and their relation to the development of an alcohol use disorder will be measured with fMRI.
The aim of this study is to examine the impact of ACE on stress sensitivity, cue-reactivity and emotion processing in individuals with AUD. (Neuro-) biological and physiological mechanisms underlying AUD after ACE will be studied. Neural correlates of stress-sensitivity, emotion processing and alcohol cue-reactivity will be assessed using fMRI. Furthermore, blood and saliva samples will be used to assess biological and physiological mechanisms (e.g. salivary cortisol level or genetic markers of AUD and possible gene-environment-interactions). The question whether individuals with AUD and ACE might tend to use alcohol to cope with stress, negative affect or intrusions (according to the self-medication model) will be explored. On the other hand, individuals with AUD and low levels of ACE might use alcohol for its positive effects (according to a positive reinforcement model). 90 individuals (30 HC and 60 individuals with AUD and varying levels of ACE) will be examined using interviews, questionnaires and fMRI tasks as well as saliva and blood samples. All ethical votes and informed consents of participants are and will be obtained according to the declaration of Helsinki.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
70
No intervention
Klinik für Abhängiges Verhalten, Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit
Mannheim, Germany
fMRI to assess group differences in task-specific brain activation patterns: Stress-sensitivity
Stress-sensitivity: stress task (e.g.mental rotation with and without time pressure) with social component within the MRI scanner to assess neural activation patters during the stress-task
Time frame: fMRI measurement at one day only (day of fMRI experiment)
fMRI to assess group differences in task-specific brain activation patterns: Emotion processing
Emotion-processing: emotional face-/form-matching task to assess neural activation patters of emotion processing
Time frame: fMRI measurement at one day only (day of fMRI experiment)
fMRI to assess group differences in task-specific brain activation patterns: Alcohol cue-reactivity
Alcohol cue-reactivity: pictures of alcoholic beverages to asses neural alcohol-cue reactivity
Time frame: fMRI measurement at one day only (day of fMRI experiment)
Hormonal stress response using salivary cortisol level
Collection of saliva on a subject's regular week-day for the individual's normal cortisol awakening response and circadian rhythm (basal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-function at 0, 0.5, 8 and 14 hours after wake-up). Cortisol awakening reaction, area under the curve and slope will therefore be calculated \[nmol/L\].
Time frame: Normal awakening response on a subject's regular week-day (0, 0.5, 8 and 14 hours after wake-up)
Hormonal stress response using salivary cortisol level
Collection of saliva during the course of the fMRI stress task for task-induced stress effects on salivary cortisol levels (at -45, -22, -10 minutes before and 35, 45, 60, 75 and 90 minutes after onset of stress induction). Cortisol: Area under the curve and slope will therefore be calculated \[nmol/L\].
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Time frame: Stress response during the fMRI stress task (day of fMRI experiment, at -45, -22, -10 minutes before and 35, 45, 60, 75 and 90 minutes after onset of stress induction)
GWAS and especially glutamatergic, serotonergic single-nucleotide polymorphisms
Genomic DNA using 40ml EDTA-blood
Time frame: blood sample at one day only (day of fMRI experiment)