This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine brain activation in individuals with low and high LRs to alcohol while they performed a cognitive task.
Significant differences detected in brain activation may contribute to the inability by individuals with a low LR to recognize modest levels of alcohol intoxication.
A low level of response (LR) to alcohol is a genetically influenced characteristic, or phenotype, that reflects at least in part a low brain response to alcohol, and carries significant risk for the later development of alcoholism. This study addressed the physiological underpinnings of a low and high LR, finding significant differences in brain activation during a cognitive task, possibly reflecting differences in the amount of brain activity used to deal with a cognitive challenge.
Results will be published in the January 2012 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.
"While some genes that contribute to LR have been provisionally identified, the mechanism through which the low LR operates in the brain has not been extensively studied," explained Marc A. Schuckit, distinguished professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego, and corresponding author for the study. "This report confirms prior reports from our group that used a different cognitive task to show that people with a low LR process information differently from those with a high LR even when tested with placebo. The differences between LR groups after placebo and alcohol across different cognitive tasks may help explain why low LR subjects might have more problems recognizing the effects of moderate doses of alcohol. If you aren't able to recognize the effects of lower doses of alcohol, you are more likely to drink heavy amounts per occasion, which both directly and indirectly increases your risk for alcohol problems."
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