Acute depletion of dopamine precursors in the human brain: effects on functional connectivity and alcohol attentional bias.

ABSTRACT: Individuals who abuse alcohol often show exaggerated attentional bias (AB) towards alcohol-related cues, which is thought to reflect reward conditioning processes. Rodent studies indicate that dopaminergic pathways play a key role in conditioned responses to reward- and alcohol-associated cues. However, investigation of the dopaminergic circuitry mediating this process in humans remains limited. We hypothesized that depletion of central dopamine levels in adult alcohol drinkers would attenuate AB and that these effects would be mediated by altered function in frontolimbic circuitry. Thirty-four male participants (22-38 years, including both social and heavy drinkers) underwent a two-session, placebo-controlled, double-blind dopamine precursor depletion procedure. At each visit, participant

SUBMITTER: Elton A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8209208 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature