Gender effects in implicit associations towards alcohol in patients with alcohol use disorder - preliminary results

Abstract

Background • Current neuroscientific theories postulate an imbalance between enhanced automatic reaction towards alcohol and impaired inhibitory control as a significant factor in the development and maintenance of an alcohol use disorder (AUD) [e.g. 1]. • Implicit associations, as measured with the Implicit Association Test (IAT), could indicate the strength of such automatic reactions. • Preclinical behavioral studies reveal that women and men differ in their implicit associations and that these associations predict the success of inhibition trainings [e.g. 2, 3]. • Neurophysiological findings in other research areas show ERP changes regarding implicit associations [e.g. 4, 5]. • Studies investigating the neurophysiological correlates of implicit alcohol associations and gender effects in patients with AUD are missing. Methods • 66 abstinent inpatients with AUD attending a specialized treatment program were measured with a 64-channel EEG. • All performed an IAT to assess positive and negative implicit associations towards alcohol. • After preprocessing, two ERPs were obtained for each subject over all correct trials: alcohol-positive and alcohol-negative. • First, a 2x2 TANOVA with the between-factor gender (male, female) and the within-factor valence (alcohol-positive, alcohol-negative) was conducted to test for interactions. Second, GFP analyses were calculated for the same interactions. Results ➢ Main effect Gender (426 – 544ms) Men and women differ significantly in their topography. ➢ Main effect Valence (350 – 562ms) Topographies between alcohol-positive and alcohol-negative assignments vary significantly. ➢ Interaction Gender x Valence (656-712ms) While men show higher GFP during the alcohol-negative assignments, women have higher GFP during alcoholpositive pairings. Neurophysiological gender effects of an Alcohol- Valence-IAT in AUD are examined for the first time. • During the late P3, women exhibit stronger frontal positivity, whereas men display a stronger lateralized posterior positivity. Further, alcohol-negative allocations show stronger frontal positivity than alcohol-positive assignments. ➢ Networks activated during the (late) P3 differ in terms of gender and valence. Outlook ➢ Comparison of patients and healthy controls ➢ Analyses of behavioral data ➢ Behavioral & neurophysiological change after an inhibition training ➢ Interaction Gender x Valence (656-712ms) While men show higher GFP during the alcohol-negative assignments, women have higher GFP during alcoholpositive pairings. ➢ Main effect Gender (426 – 544ms) Men and women differ significantly in their topography. ➢ Main effect Valence (350 – 562ms) Topographies between alcohol-positive and alcohol-negative assignments vary significantly. Implicit Association Task (IAT): During alcohol-positive blocks, the assignment of alcohol cues is consistently paired with positive words. In alcohol-negative blocks, alcohol cues and negative words share the same allocation. Discussion • Neurophysiological gender effects of an Alcohol- Valence-IAT in AUD are examined for the first time. • During the late P3, women exhibit stronger frontal positivity, whereas men display a stronger lateralized posterior positivity. Further, alcohol-negative allocations show stronger frontal positivity than alcohol-positive assignments. ➢ Networks activated during the (late) P3 differ in terms of gender and valence. • Men show higher GFP during the alcohol-negative while women have higher GFP during alcoholpositive allocations. This indicates that in women with AUD, more activation during the processing of positive associations is required, whereas the opposite pattern occurs in men. ➢ Women could have less positive associations towards alcohol than men, which is in line with previous research.