Consistent with prior research, our amygdala and VS BOLD fMRI paradigms elicited robust threat-related amygdala reactivity (Figure 1a) and reward-related VS activity (Figure 1b), respectively. In addition, men showed higher activation in both regions (t(757) values>1.86, p values<0.064), while age was negatively correlated with VS activity bilaterally (b values<-0.06; p values<0.070). Notably these effects of age remained when controlling for gender (p values<0.05). Consistent with prior reports,46 the men in our sample reported higher AUDIT scores than women (6.36±4.74 vs. 4.35±3.77, t(737)=6.30, p<0.001). Race/ethnicity moderated AUDIT scores, such that non-Hispanic Caucasian participants reported drinking more than all other ethnic groups except for the Hispanic and multiracial group (F(3,755)=4.61, p=0.003, significant post hoc p values < 0.04 LSD-corrected). None of the other groups differed from each other (p values > 0.10 LSD-corrected). In light of these effects, all analyses were conducted with and without gender, age, and race/ethnicity, in addition to CTQ scores, as covariates.
