Contrasting the pre- and post-priming scans within the Alcohol versus Water Cues contrasts, the main contrast of interest, revealed significantly greater activation associated with the pre-priming scan in the hippocampus, amygdala, inferior frontal gyrus, temporal regions, occipital cortex, and other areas (Table 3). Controlling for alcoholism severity in the model intensified these regions of activation such that pre-priming alcohol cues were associated with larger clusters of activation in the hippocampus and amygdala, inferior frontal gyrus, temporal regions, and occipital areas (Table 3, Figure 3). No regions of significant activation were found for the reverse contrast (post- versus pre-priming) or when comparing OPRM1 genotype within either model. No correlations were observed between whole-brain BOLD measures and self-reported craving assessments, as commonly reported in previous studies (e.g., 11, 27, 28).
