Jeremy Harper1, Stephen M Malone2, William G Iacono2. 1. Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, USA. Electronic address: harpe300@umn.edu. 2. Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Adolescent alcohol use (AAU) is associated with brain anomalies, but less is known about long-term neurocognitive effects. Despite theoretical models linking AAU to diminished cognitive control, empirical work testing this relationship with specific cognitive control neural correlates (e.g., prefrontal theta-band EEG dynamics) remains scarce. A longitudinal twin design was used to test the hypothesis that greater AAU is associated with reduced conflict-related EEG theta-band dynamics in adulthood, and to examine the genetic/environmental etiology of this association. METHODS: In a large (N=718) population-based prospective twin sample, AAU was assessed at ages 11/14/17. Twins completed a flanker task at age 29 to elicit EEG theta-band medial frontal cortex (MFC) power and medial-dorsal prefrontal cortex (MFC-dPFC) connectivity. Two complementary analytic methods (cotwin control analysis; biometric modeling) were used to disentangle the genetic/shared environmental risk towards AAU from possible alcohol exposure effects on theta dynamics. RESULTS: AAU was negatively associated with adult cognitive control-related theta-band MFC power and MFC-dPFC functional connectivity. Genetic influences primarily underlie these associations. CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide strong evidence that genetic factors underlie the comorbidity between AAU and diminished cognitive control-related theta dynamics in adulthood. SIGNIFICANCE: Conflict-related theta-band dynamics appear to be candidate brain-based endophenotypes/mechanisms for AAU.
OBJECTIVE: Adolescent alcohol use (AAU) is associated with brain anomalies, but less is known about long-term neurocognitive effects. Despite theoretical models linking AAU to diminished cognitive control, empirical work testing this relationship with specific cognitive control neural correlates (e.g., prefrontal theta-band EEG dynamics) remains scarce. A longitudinal twin design was used to test the hypothesis that greater AAU is associated with reduced conflict-related EEG theta-band dynamics in adulthood, and to examine the genetic/environmental etiology of this association. METHODS: In a large (N=718) population-based prospective twin sample, AAU was assessed at ages 11/14/17. Twins completed a flanker task at age 29 to elicit EEG theta-band medial frontal cortex (MFC) power and medial-dorsal prefrontal cortex (MFC-dPFC) connectivity. Two complementary analytic methods (cotwin control analysis; biometric modeling) were used to disentangle the genetic/shared environmental risk towards AAU from possible alcohol exposure effects on theta dynamics. RESULTS: AAU was negatively associated with adult cognitive control-related theta-band MFC power and MFC-dPFC functional connectivity. Genetic influences primarily underlie these associations. CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide strong evidence that genetic factors underlie the comorbidity between AAU and diminished cognitive control-related theta dynamics in adulthood. SIGNIFICANCE: Conflict-related theta-band dynamics appear to be candidate brain-based endophenotypes/mechanisms for AAU.
Authors: Danielle M Dick; Gregory Smith; Peter Olausson; Suzanne H Mitchell; Robert F Leeman; Stephanie S O'Malley; Kenneth Sher Journal: Addict Biol Date: 2010-04 Impact factor: 4.280
Authors: Jeremy Harper; Stephen M Malone; Sylia Wilson; Ruskin H Hunt; Kathleen M Thomas; William G Iacono Journal: Biol Psychiatry Date: 2021-01-20 Impact factor: 13.382