Reduced Amygdala Activation in Young Adults at High Risk of Alcoholism: Studies from the Oklahoma Family Health Patterns Project

doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.09.041

Biological Psychiatry

Volume 61, Issue 11, 1 June 2007, Pages 1306-1309

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.09.041 Get rights and content

Background

Risk of alcoholism is higher in those with a positive family history (FH+) and in those showing behavioral disinhibition, possibly reflecting altered limbic system function.

Methods

We performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 17 nonabusing young adults, 9 with FH+ and high in disinhibition versus 8 with a negative family history (FH−) and low in disinhibition. We probed limbic system reactivity with a recognition task using faces expressing fear versus geometric objects.

Results

Subjects with FH− had robust activation to the faces in the region of the right and left amygdalar complexes (p’s < .05), while subjects with FH+ had no such activation (p’s > .46). The blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal in the region of the amygdala was correlated with scores on the self-report measure of temperament in the combined groups (r = .51, p < .04).

Conclusions

Behaviorally disinhibited temperament, found in many with FH+, may be associated with amygdalar hyporesponsiveness and a failure to avoid risky decisions, increasing the person’s liability for alcohol abuse.

Section snippets

Methods and Materials

Subjects included 9 with FH+ (5 female subjects) and 8 with FH− (3 female subjects) 23.5 years of age (Table 1). Volunteers were scanned at the Research Imaging Center at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio. Subjects and parents signed consent forms approved by the supervising Institutional Review Boards and were paid for participating.

Subjects were free of Axis I and II disorders (clusters A and C) by DSM-IV criteria (American Psychiatric Association 1994). Subjects with

Results

Face identification activated regions implicated in facial processing: posterior fusiform gyri, inferior parietal lobules, frontal eye fields, striate and extrastriate cortex, anterior cingulate gyrus, hippocampal and parahippocampal gyri, and amygdalas (Haxby et al 2002, Ridderinkhof et al 2004).

A family history (FH) group × hemisphere × ROI (amygdala, fusiform) multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed a main effect for ROI [F(1,15) = 10.63, p < .005] and an FH × ROI interaction [F

Discussion

The fMRI data supported our prediction of reduced amygdala responsivity in FH+ persons who are behaviorally disinhibited, providing a perspective on risk in FH+. In human and nonhuman primates, faces are provocative social stimuli that cause robust activation of the amygdala and parahippocampal gyrus (Adolphs et al 2005, Hariri et al 2002, Kobatake and Tanaka 1994), further highlighting the hyporeactivity of these FH+ subjects. One study found FH+ subjects to have reduced amygdala volumes

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Brief ReportReduced Amygdala Activation in Young Adults at High Risk of Alcoholism: Studies from the Oklahoma Family Health Patterns Project

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Methods and Materials

Results

Discussion

Neuropsychologia

Drug Alcohol Depend

Neuroimage

Biol Psychiatry

Biol Psychiatry

Neuroimage

Neurosci Behav Rev

Neuroimage

Int J Psychophysiol

Psychiatry Res

A mechanism for impaired fear recognition after amygdala damage

Nature

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

The family history method using diagnostic criteria

Arch Gen Psychiatry

Inheritance of alcohol abuse: Cross fostering analysis of adopted men

Arch Gen Psychiatry

A comparison of methods for assessing sociopathy in male and female alcoholics

J Stud Alcohol

Brief Report
Reduced Amygdala Activation in Young Adults at High Risk of Alcoholism: Studies from the Oklahoma Family Health Patterns Project