Hippocampus-Ventral Striatum Connectivity Is Associated With Binge Drinking Frequency in Adults

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging
• Addiction Research

Background:

• Contextual cues significantly influence reward-seeking behaviors, including binge drinking.
• Animal models implicate hippocampal projections to the ventral striatum in context-evoked alcohol seeking.
• Human studies on the hippocampus-ventral striatum circuit in binge drinking are limited, often relying on separate regional analyses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between hippocampal-ventral striatum (HPC-VS) structural connectivity and binge drinking in adults.
• To explore potential hemisphere- and sex-specific associations within the HPC-VS circuit related to alcohol consumption.

Main Methods:

• Utilized diffusion MRI tractography to assess HPC-VS connectivity in a large adult cohort (N=593, ages 22-35).
• Examined statistical associations between quantified HPC-VS connectivity and self-reported past-year binge drinking frequency.
• Analyzed for interactions, including sex, to identify nuanced relationships within the circuit.

Main Results:

• Greater left hemisphere HPC-VS connectivity correlated with higher past-year binge drinking frequency.
• A significant right hemisphere HPC-VS × sex interaction was observed: increased connectivity was linked to higher binge drinking in females and lower in males.
• These results highlight distinct neural pathway associations with alcohol use based on hemisphere and sex.

Conclusions:

• Structural variability in the hippocampal-striatal pathway is associated with binge drinking frequency in a hemisphere- and sex-specific manner.
• These findings suggest that specific anatomical connections within this circuit may represent a correlate of vulnerability to problematic alcohol consumption.
• The study underscores the importance of considering sex and hemispheric differences in neuroimaging research on alcohol use disorders.