Abstract
Previous research indicates that following alcohol intoxication, activity in prefrontal cortices is reduced, linking to changes in associated cognitive processes, such as inhibitory control, attentional bias (AB), and craving. While these changes have been implicated in alcohol consumption behaviour, it has yet to be fully illuminated how these frontal regions and cognitive processes interact to govern alcohol consumption behaviour. The current preregistered study applied continuous theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (cTBS) to examine directly these relationships while removing the wider pharmacological effects of alcohol. A mixed design was implemented, with cTBS stimulation to right and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the medial orbital frontal cortex (mOFC) and Vertex, with measures of inhibitory control, AB, and craving taken both pre- and post-stimulation. Ad libitum consumption was measured using a bogus taste task. Results suggest that rDLPFC stimulation impaired inhibitory control but did not significantly increase ad libitum consumption. However, lDLPFC stimulation heightened craving and increased consumption, with findings indicating that changes in craving partially mediated the relationship between cTBS stimulation of prefrontal regions and ad libitum consumption. Medial OFC stimulation and AB findings were inconclusive. Overall, results implicate the left DLPFC in the regulation of craving, which appears to be a prepotent cognitive mechanism by which alcohol consumption is driven and maintained.
Highlights
Numerous humorous memes circulating on the internet poke fun at the notion of “just going for one drink” by documenting how planned moderate consumption of alcohol can, at times, escalate
The current study represents an initial attempt to use TMS to isolate changes in cognitive processes from wider pharmacological effects of alcohol. It examined how reputedly important cognitive processes associated with alcohol behaviours interact and relate to alcohol consumption
Findings suggest while dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) may be important in the control of prepotent responses, such changes do not manifest in increased consumption
Summary
Numerous humorous memes circulating on the internet poke fun at the notion of “just going for one drink” by documenting how planned moderate consumption of alcohol can, at times, escalate. Alcohol-related cognitions, such as inhibitory control (Weafer & Fillmore, 2008), attentional bias (AB; see Field & Cox, 2008), and craving (Rose & Grunsell, 2008), have been identified as influences on people’s ability to curtail their alcohol consumption These accounts have tended to place AB (Franken, 2003; Tiffany, 1990; Tiffany & Conklin, 2000) at the heart of explanations of addiction, and empirical work has examined how AB affects inhibitory control (Leung et al, 2017) and craving (Field et al, 2009).
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