Another potential implication of these data is highlighted in Table 4. The most consistent baseline fMRI-related pattern was that subjects with low LR were more likely than those with high LR to demonstrate higher BOLD response contrast under placebo conditions than when after drinking alcohol. This is consistent with lower alcohol responses for subjects with low LRs in prior studies evaluating alcohol responses for EEG, ERP, ACTH and prolactin (Ehlers et al., 1999; Schuckit & Gold, 1988; Schuckit et al., 1988a, 1988b). While from this perspective the fMRI results were similar to other measures of alcohol sensitivity, it is important to note that the fMRI BOLD response contrasts added significantly to LR in predicting outcomes.
