Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Addict Biol. 2023 Feb;28(2):e13263. doi: 10.1111/adb.13263.
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.
巴甫洛夫线索可以通过巴甫洛夫到工具性转移（PIT）过程影响正在进行的工具性行为。虽然食欲性巴甫洛夫线索往往会促进工具性接近，但在需要回避行为时，它们是有害的，而对于厌恶性线索则相反。我们最近报告说，通过 PIT 任务评估的对巴甫洛夫和工具性控制之间干扰的易感性与 18 岁时的危险饮酒有关。我们现在根据 AUDIT（酒精使用障碍识别测试）消费和狂饮（克酒精/饮酒次数）评分，研究了这种易感性是否也可以预测到 24 岁的饮酒轨迹。在 fMRI 中评估的干扰 PIT 效应，表现为错误率（ER）增加和冲突期间腹侧纹状体（VS）、外侧和背内侧前额叶皮层（dmPFC）的神经反应增强，即当存在厌恶性巴甫洛夫线索时需要进行工具性接近，或者反之亦然。我们发现，18 岁时冲突期间 VS 的反应越强，两种饮酒轨迹的起点越高，但预测狂饮次数减少。21 岁时，dmPFC 中的高 ER 和增强的神经反应与接下来 3 年 AUDIT-C 评分的增加有关，直到 24 岁。总的来说，对巴甫洛夫和工具性控制之间干扰的易感性可能被视为年轻人危险饮酒的易患机制，而确定的高风险群体可能受益于有针对性的干预。
