Our psychological measures support the interpretation that our EEG coherence and NAcc seed-correlation ICA components reflect enhanced top-down processing that support the maintenance of abstinence. However, there were no significant correlations between the loading parameters of the ICA components with any drinking measure or psychological measure. All our measurements were cross-sectional, and it is perhaps not surprising that synchrony within networks after a long period of abstinence is not correlated with lifetime measures of alcohol use or behavior. A longitudinal study from very early abstinence through extended abstinence, where changes in network synchrony, psychological symptoms, and neuropsychological tests reflecting appetitive drive and executive function, might reveal a tighter connection between network synchrony and behavior.
