Susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control predisposes risky alcohol use developmental trajectory from ages 18 to 24

TY - JOUR

T1 - Susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control predisposes risky alcohol use developmental trajectory from ages 18 to 24

AU - Chen, Hao

AU - Belanger, Matthew J.

AU - Garbusow, Maria

AU - Kuitunen‐Paul, Sören

AU - Huys, Quentin J. M.

AU - Heinz, Andreas

AU - Rapp, Michael A.

AU - Smolka, Michael N.

N1 - Funding Information: This study was supported by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) (Grant Nos. 186318919 [FOR 1617], 178833530 [SFB 940] and 402170461 [TRR 265]). We thank Dr. Stephan Nebe for his contribution to the data collection. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Addiction Biology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society for the Study of Addiction.

PY - 2023/2

Y1 - 2023/2

N2 - Pavlovian cues can influence ongoing instrumental behaviour via Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) processes. While appetitive Pavlovian cues tend to promote instrumental approach, they are detrimental when avoidance behaviour is required, and vice versa for aversive cues. We recently reported that susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control assessed via a PIT task was associated with risky alcohol use at age 18. We now investigated whether such susceptibility also predicts drinking trajectories until age 24, based on AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) consumption and binge drinking (gramme alcohol/drinking occasion) scores. The interference PIT effect, assessed at ages 18 and 21 during fMRI, was characterized by increased error rates (ER) and enhanced neural responses in the ventral striatum (VS), the lateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortices (dmPFC) during conflict, that is, when an instrumental approach was required in the presence of an aversive Pavlovian cue or vice versa. We found that a stronger VS response during conflict at age 18 was associated with a higher starting point of both drinking trajectories but predicted a decrease in binge drinking. At age 21, high ER and enhanced neural responses in the dmPFC were associated with increasing AUDIT-C scores over the next 3 years until age 24. Overall, susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control might be viewed as a predisposing mechanism towards hazardous alcohol use during young adulthood, and the identified high-risk group may profit from targeted interventions.

AB - Pavlovian cues can influence ongoing instrumental behaviour via Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) processes. While appetitive Pavlovian cues tend to promote instrumental approach, they are detrimental when avoidance behaviour is required, and vice versa for aversive cues. We recently reported that susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control assessed via a PIT task was associated with risky alcohol use at age 18. We now investigated whether such susceptibility also predicts drinking trajectories until age 24, based on AUDIT (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test) consumption and binge drinking (gramme alcohol/drinking occasion) scores. The interference PIT effect, assessed at ages 18 and 21 during fMRI, was characterized by increased error rates (ER) and enhanced neural responses in the ventral striatum (VS), the lateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortices (dmPFC) during conflict, that is, when an instrumental approach was required in the presence of an aversive Pavlovian cue or vice versa. We found that a stronger VS response during conflict at age 18 was associated with a higher starting point of both drinking trajectories but predicted a decrease in binge drinking. At age 21, high ER and enhanced neural responses in the dmPFC were associated with increasing AUDIT-C scores over the next 3 years until age 24. Overall, susceptibility to interference between Pavlovian and instrumental control might be viewed as a predisposing mechanism towards hazardous alcohol use during young adulthood, and the identified high-risk group may profit from targeted interventions.

KW - interference control

KW - Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer

KW - risky drinking

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85146986613

U2 - 10.1111/adb.13263

DO - 10.1111/adb.13263

M3 - Article

C2 - 36692874

SN - 1355-6215

VL - 28

JO - Addiction Biology

JF - Addiction Biology

IS - 2

M1 - e13263

ER -