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Effects of cognitive bias modification training on neural signatures of alcohol approach tendencies in male alcohol‐dependent patients
Author(s) -
Wiers Corinde E.,
Ludwig Vera U.,
Gladwin Thomas E.,
Park Soyoung Q.,
Heinz Andreas,
Wiers Reinout W.,
Rinck Mike,
Lindenmeyer Johannes,
Walter Henrik,
Bermpohl Felix
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
addiction biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.445
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1369-1600
pISSN - 1355-6215
DOI - 10.1111/adb.12221
Subject(s) - alcohol , placebo , prefrontal cortex , neuroimaging , nucleus accumbens , attentional bias , neural correlates of consciousness , cognitive bias modification , psychology , functional magnetic resonance imaging , neuroscience , audiology , medicine , cognitive bias , cognition , central nervous system , chemistry , pathology , biochemistry , alternative medicine
Alcohol‐dependent patients have been shown to faster approach than avoid alcohol stimuli on the A pproach A voidance T ask ( AAT ). This so‐called alcohol approach bias has been associated with increased brain activation in the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. C ognitive bias modification ( CBM ) has been used to retrain the approach bias with the clinically relevant effect of decreasing relapse rates one year later. The effects of CBM on neural signatures of approach/avoidance tendencies remain hitherto unknown. In a double‐blind placebo‐controlled design, 26 alcohol‐dependent in‐patients were assigned to a CBM or a placebo training group. Both groups performed the AAT for three weeks: in CBM training, patients pushed away 90 percent of alcohol cues; this rate was 50 percent in placebo training. Before and after training, patients performed the AAT offline, and in a 3 T magnetic resonance imaging scanner. The relevant neuroimaging contrast for the alcohol approach bias was the difference between approaching versus avoiding alcohol cues relative to soft drink cues: [(alcohol pull > alcohol push) > (soft drink pull > soft drink push)]. Before training, both groups showed significant alcohol approach bias‐related activation in the medial prefrontal cortex. After training, patients in the CBM group showed stronger reductions in medial prefrontal cortex activation compared with the placebo group. Moreover, these reductions correlated with reductions in approach bias scores in the CBM group only. This suggests that CBM affects neural mechanisms involved in the automatic alcohol approach bias, which may be important for the clinical effectiveness of CBM.