Our finding of low dorsal and ventral striatal response to monetary reward in adults with alcohol dependence is consistent with other findings in alcohol dependence, even those focusing on the anticipation of reward rather than rewarding outcomes [20], [21]. In the context of the extant literature on response to drug vs. non-drug reward in alcohol dependence, the current findings for VS response provide partial support for the hypothesis that addiction shifts reward function away from natural or non-drug rewards—in this case, money—and toward drug rewards [48]. Notably, the accompanying hypothesis that alcohol dependence is associated with altered frontostriatal functional connectivity during reward processing is not inconsistent with low VS response in alcohol dependence. Low response within the VS does not guarantee or preclude altered coordination with frontal regions during the experience of a task. To address this issue in greater depth, research designs that include both drug and non-drug rewards in a single fMRI paradigm will therefore be valuable in future studies. While our findings contribute to what is known about neural response to non-drug rewards in addiction, a more
