Functional magnetic resonance imaging (<scp>fMRI)</scp> response to alcohol pictures predicts subsequent transition to heavy drinking in college students

Abstract

Neural response to pictures of alcohol is substantially enhanced among United States college students who subsequently escalate drinking. Greater cue-reactivity is associated with larger increases in drinking and alcohol-related problems, regardless of other baseline factors. Thus, neural cue-reactivity could uniquely facilitate identifying individuals at greatest risk for future problematic drinking.