The present study, therefore, investigates the role of functional connectivity of reward-related circuitry in vulnerability to substance abuse in young adults. Participants were recruited from the Michigan Longitudinal Study (MLS), an ongoing, prospective community study of FH+ families and contrast nonalcoholic families (FH−) recruited from the same neighborhoods (Zucker et al., 1996, 2000). We used psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis to investigate how physiological connectivity is affected by psychological valence (reward processing versus a neutral condition) using a MID task. We hypothesized that connectivity during incentive anticipation between the NAcc and cognitive control regions associated with reward processing would differ by family history. We further hypothesized that individual differences in connectivity during incentive anticipation would mediate the relationship between sensation-seeking and levels of substance use in high-risk youth.
