While in the scanner, participants underwent an alcohol taste-cue paradigm, previously reported to elicit blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response in mesocorticolimbic areas (Filbey et al., 2008a; Filbey et al., 2008b). Alcohol and water taste stimuli were delivered via Teflon tubing using a computer-controlled delivery system (Infinity Controller) as described by Filbey et al. (2008a). The paradigm consisted of 12 taste cue trials (six alcohol and six water trials) in which 1 ml of liquid was delivered. Each trial consisted of a 24 second taste delivery period, followed by a six second rest period, a 12 second urge rating period, and a two second delay before the initiation of the next trial (Figure 1). The words “Alcohol Taste” or “Control Taste” were visually presented during cue delivery; though it was previously reported that the presentation of explicit, versus non-explicit, taste instructions did not alter responses to alcohol (Filbey et al., 2008a). Participants rated their urge to drink alcohol using a scale of 1 (no urge at all) to 4 (very high urge) using a four-button response box placed in their
