Neural and Behavioral Correlates of Alcohol-Induced Aggression under Provocation
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
Although alcohol consumption is linked to increased aggression, its neural correlates have not directly been studied in humans so far. Based on a comprehensive neurobiological model of alcohol-induced aggression, we hypothesized that alcohol-induced aggression would go along with increased amygdala and ventral striatum reactivity and impaired functioning of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) under alcohol. We measured neural and behavioral correlates of alcohol-induced aggression in a provoking vs non-provoking condition with a variant of the Taylor aggression paradigm (TAP) allowing to differentiate between reactive (provoked) and proactive (unprovoked) aggression. In a placebo-controlled cross-over design with moderate alcohol intoxication (∼0.6 g/kg), 35 young healthy adults performed the TAP during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Analyses revealed that provoking vs non-provoking conditions and alcohol vs placebo increased aggression and decreased brain responses in the anterior cingulate cortex/dorso-medial PFC (provoking<non-provoking) and the ventral striatum (alcohol<placebo) across our healthy sample. Interestingly, alcohol specifically increased proactive (unprovoked) but not reactive (provoked) aggression (alcohol × provocation interaction). However, investigation of inter-individual differences revealed (1) that pronounced alcohol-induced proactive aggression was linked to higher levels of aggression under placebo, and (2) that pronounced alcohol-induced reactive aggression was related to increased amygdala and ventral striatum reactivity under alcohol, providing evidence for their role in human alcohol-induced reactive aggression. Our findings suggest that in healthy young adults a liability for alcohol-induced aggression in a non-provoking context might depend on overall high levels of aggression, but on alcohol-induced increased striatal and amygdala reactivity when triggered by provocation.
Details
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2886-2896 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Neuropsychopharmacology |
Volume | 40 |
Issue number | 13 |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2015 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
PubMed | 25971590 |
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ORCID | /0000-0001-5398-5569/work/161890806 |
ORCID | /0000-0001-8870-0041/work/161891682 |