Furthermore, we found NAcc-SSMA connectivity correlated with sensation-seeking in opposite directions as a function ofFH, with higher sensation-seeking associated with increasingly positive connectivity in FH+ subjects. Incentive-related connectivity mediated the relationship between this personality trait and drinking volume in these at-risk subjects, suggesting that individual variations in neural connectivity, and not only discrete brain regions, influence the relationship between personality and outcome. The SSMA, encompassing the mesial portion of the superior frontal gyrus, paracentral lobule, cingulate gyrus and precuneus (Lim et al., 1994), incorporates structures within both the attention and motor networks (Deco and Corbetta, 2011). As such, it is involved in initiation and integration of motor function with visual sensory and emotional guidance, or an “urge to move” (Fox et al., 1985; Lim et al., 1994; Tanji and Evarts, 1976). The accumbens coupling differences in high-risk subjects may represent inefficient communication between salient and internal mentation processes. Therefore, NAcc-SSMA connectivity may mediate the transformation of desire generated by the ventral striatum, represented at an individual-level as a sensation-seeking trait, into preparation to act.
