way that facilitates addictive behavior. This change in modulation could be a stable vulnerability in those with high familial loading for alcohol-related problems. Our findings of altered mPFC functional connectivity with the nucleus accumbens in alcohol dependent adults, as well as altered functional connectivity in more frequent drinkers in the alcohol-dependent group, occurred during the comparison of receiving money and losing money. Thus, striatal-mPFC coordination could be particularly sensitive to rewarding outcomes rather than outcomes generally. These findings have meaning for the function of reward circuitry associated with alcohol dependence specifically and with addiction in general.
