In addition, altered PFC response to rewarding events has been reported in both adults with substance dependence and adolescents at risk for alcohol use problems. Bjork et al. [46] reported that substance dependent adults exhibited less response to obtaining risky rewards in a posterior dorsal region of mPFC whose function is associated with conflict monitoring and reward-driven behavior. While the mPFC region distinguishing alcohol dependent and comparison groups in the current study is located in a more anterior area of PFC than the region reported in that previous study, our findings suggest a similar pattern of low PFC engagement during reward processing. In our case, and consistent with the nature of our fMRI task, the mPFC subregion with lower function in alcohol dependence is associated with the expression and regulation of response to pleasant stimuli [47].
