Trace Jacobson
Age of Alcohol Onset and Its Impact on Nucleus Accumbens Activity During Social Reward Anticipation
Mentor: Scott Langenecker, PHD
Department: Ohio State / Department of Psychiatry Psychiatry and Behavioral Health
Background: Alcohol initiation during adolescence, a period marked by rapidly developing social norms and behaviors, is a risk factor for later heavy alcohol use (HAU) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). Individuals with HAU and AUD often exhibit atypical social behaviors and strained relationships, possibly due to altered neural responses to social cues within reward regions like the nucleus accumbens (NAc). It remains unclear if age of alcohol initiation predicts neural responses to social reward anticipation in the NAc.
Methods: Participant groups were determined using the AUDIT-C (HAU: score ≥ 5, n = 35, controls: 0-1, n = 31). Participants (all female) underwent fMRI scans during the follicular and luteal phases of their menstrual cycle in counterbalanced order. Participants performed the Social Incentive Delay fMRI task, where they could win money for a partner and were rewarded with positive social feedback from the partner. NAc activity was analyzed in relation to self-reported onset of first drink.
Results: Younger age of alcohol initiation was associated with higher NAc activation during social reward anticipation, particularly in the luteal phase (r = -0.26, p = 0.041). Contrary to expectations, age of initiation did not predict control, HAU, or AUD status.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that earlier alcohol initiation may heighten NAc activation in response to social rewards, especially during the luteal phase, although the order of effect could be reversed. Future research should explore the longitudinal relationship between age of alcohol initiation and adolescent reward-seeking to determine the directionality of these effects.
