The current study aimed to identify specific features of FC, neuropsychological, and impulsivity to classify individuals with AUD from a CTL group. Findings showed that the RF model achieved a classification accuracy of 76.67% and identified 14 DMN connections, two neuropsychological variables (memory span and total correct scores of the forward condition of the VST), and all impulsivity factors as important features to classify participants into either AUD or CTL group (Table 3 and Figure 2, Figure 3 and Figure 5). Relative to the CTL group, AUD individuals manifested hyperconnectivity across the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) as well as between the bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL), while showing hypoconnectivity in several connections involving anterior–posterior and interhemispheric long-range connectivity (Figure 5). Furthermore, AUD subjects showed poorer neuropsychological performance and visual spatial memory span as well as increased impulsivity compared to the CTL group. Furthermore, the top important variables from the three different domains, as identified by the RF method, were also associated with each other as well as with AUD status (Figure 6).
