This study examined fronto-striatal functional connectivity during an alcohol cue-exposure task in a sample of alcohol dependent individuals. Inputs from the PFC to the striatum regulate the expression of reward driven decision-making (Haber et al., 2006). Shifts from ventral to dorsal striatal control of alcohol cues processing are thought to mark the transition from goal-directed to habitual drinking (Everitt and Robbins, 2005). Thus we examined two distinct pathways of fronto-striatal connectivity, namely ventral and dorsal pathways, and tested whether the A118G locus, putatively involved in alcohol reinforcement, moderates functional connectivity patterns during alcohol cue exposure.
