Search

Background: The prevalence of binge drinking has risen in recent years. It is associated with a range of neurocognitive deficits among adolescents and young emerging adults who are especially vulnerable to alcohol use. Attention is an essential dimension of executive functioning and attentional disturbances may be associated with hazardous drinking. The aim of the study was to examine the oscillatory neural dynamics of attentional control during visual target detection in emerging young adults as a function of binge drinking.Method: In total, 51 first-year university students (18 ± 0.6 years) were assigned to light drinking ( n = 26), and binge drinking ( n = 25) groups based on their alcohol consumption patterns. A high-density magnetoencephalography signal was combined with structural magnetic resonance imaging in an anatomically constrained magnetoencephalography model to estimate event-related source power in a theta (4-7 Hz) frequency band. Phase-locked co-oscillations were further estimated between the principally activated regions during task performance.Results: Overall, the greatest event-related theta power was elicited by targets in the right inferior frontal cortex and it correlated with performance accuracy and selective attention scores. Binge drinkers exhibited lower theta power and dysregulated oscillatory synchrony to targets in the right inferior frontal cortex, which correlated with higher levels of alcohol consumption.Conclusions: These results confirm that a highly interactive network in the right inferior frontal cortex subserves attentional control, revealing the importance of theta oscillations and neural synchrony for attentional capture and contextual maintenance. Attenuation of theta power and synchronous interactions in binge drinkers may indicate early stages of suboptimal integrative processing in young, highly functioning binge drinkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Behavioral studies suggest that alcohol intoxication impairs the speed and accuracy of word recognition and categorization, but alcohol's effects on the brain during verbal cognitive processing are not adequately understood. Using event-related potentials (ERP) and a word-recognition paradigm, this study investigated the effects of alcohol intoxication on prelexical, semantic, and mnemonic aspects of verbal processing. METHODS: Concurrent measures of ERPs and skin conductance responses were obtained in a word-repetition priming task and permitted a comparison of the effects of alcohol on the central and autonomic physiologic systems. Social drinkers participated in all four cells of the within-subjects balanced placebo design, in which the effects of alcohol and information as to the beverage content (expectancy) were manipulated. The average peak blood alcohol level peaked at 0.045%. RESULTS: None of the manipulations affected behavioral performance, and expectancy had no effect on any of the measures. In contrast, alcohol ingestion attenuated the temporoparietal N180, suggesting an impairment in prelexical pattern-recognition processes. Alcohol significantly increased the amplitude of N450 and the latency of P580, particularly on trials evoking sympathetic arousal as measured with skin conductance responses. CONCLUSIONS: Although behavioral measures were unaffected, ERPs showed that a moderately low alcohol dose affected verbal processing during both early, prelexical and late, semantic stages. Alcohol significantly increased the difficulty of semantic access and integration, as reflected in larger N450 amplitude and longer P580 latency. This effect was particularly prominent on arousal-related trials, suggesting that alcohol impairs processes that modulate cognitive functioning. The lack of an interaction between the factors of repetition and beverage suggests that a moderately low alcohol dose exerts these effects via the semantic and integration systems rather than via memory processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanostructured YAG:Ce3+ and Y2O3:Eu3+ were synthesized by low temperature (320°C) aerosol synthesis-LTAS and high temperature (900°C) aerosol synthesis-HTAS, respectively. The synthesis included aerosol generation from a nitrate precursor solution by an ultrasonic atomizer (1.3 MHz). The obtained aerosol was introduced into a tubular flow reactor, using air as the carrier gas, where successively, on a droplet level, evaporation/drying, precipitation and thermolysis occurred. The obtained powders were collected and thermally treated at different temperatures (900-1200°C). The phase development and the morphology were investigated by the X-ray powder diffraction method (XRPD) and scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM/EDS). Structural refinement was performed using the Rietveld method with the Fullprof and Koalariet programs. The average crystallite size for the Y2O3:Eu system was calculated using the Profit program. It was shown that 89 wt.% of Y3Ai5Oi2:Ce was obtained by annealing (1000°C/6 h) the as prepared, amorphous powder, synthesized by the low temperature aerosol method (LTAS). High temperature spray pyrolysis (HTAS) at 900°C led to the formation of the targeted cubic phase of Y2O3:Eu3+. The microstructural parameters of the asprepared samples of the Y2O3:Eu3+ system indicate the formation of nanostructures with crystallite size smallest than 20 nm. The substitution of luminescent centers (Ce3+, Eu3+) into a host lattice (YAG, Y2O3, respectively) was confirmed by changes in the crystal lattice parameters. Also, it was shown in both systems that good morphological characteristics (non-a­gglomerated, spherical, submicron particles) were obtained enabling improved luminescent characteristics.

Gadolinium and Ytrium oxides doped with europium (Gd2O3:Eu, Y2O3:Eu) have luminiscent properties. Such properties are improved with the use of nanostructured materials with spherical geometry and narrow particle size distribution. Besides, luminescent properties enhance with a homogeneous distribution of dopant centers in the host matrix material. In this paper the synthesis and characterization of gadolinium and yttrium doped with different proportions of Europium are shown. Nanostructured particles were synthesized through Spray Pyrolysis route in a tubular furnace at different temperatures, and subjected to different post-thermal treatments. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) were used for the morphological, chemical and structural characterization of the nanoparticles.Los óxidos de gadolinio y de ytrio dopados con europio (Gd2O3:Eu, Y2O3:Eu) presentan propiedades luminiscentes. Dichas propiedades mejoran con la utilización de materiales nanoestructurados, con geometría esférica y estrecha distribución de tamaño de partícula. Además, las propiedades luminiscentes son favorecidas cuando se tiene una distribución homogénea de los centros dopantes en la matriz del material anfitrión. En este estudio se presenta la síntesis y caracterización de óxidos de gadolinio y de ytrio dopados con diferentes proporciones de Eu. Se sintetizaron partículas nanoestructuradas mediante la técnica de Spray Pirólisis en un horno tubular a distintas temperaturas, las cuales fueron sometidas posteriormente a diferentes tratamientos isotérmicos. La caracterización morfológica, química y estructural de las nanopartículas se realizó por microscopia electrónica de barrido (MEB-EDS), microscopía electrónica de transmisión (MET) y difracción de rayos-X (DRX).

Studies of COMT Val 158 Met suggest that the neural circuitry subserving inhibitory control may be modulated by this functional polymorphism altering cortical dopamine availability, thus giving rise to heritable differences in behaviors. Using an anatomically-constrained magnetoencephalography method and stratifying the sample by COMT genotype, from a larger sample of 153 subjects, we examined the spatial and temporal dynamics of beta oscillations during motor execution and inhibition in 21 healthy Met 158 /Met 158 (high dopamine) or 21 Val 158 /Val 158 (low dopamine) genotype individuals during a Go/NoGo paradigm. While task performance was unaffected, Met 158 homozygotes demonstrated an overall increase in beta power across regions essential for inhibitory control during early motor preparation (∼100 ms latency), suggestive of a global motor "pause" on behavior. This increase was especially evident on Go trials with slow response speed and was absent during inhibition failures. Such a pause could underlie the tendency of Met 158 allele carriers to be more cautious and inhibited. In contrast, Val 158 homozygotes exhibited a beta drop during early motor preparation, indicative of high response readiness. This decrease was associated with measures of behavioral disinhibition and consistent with greater extraversion and impulsivity observed in Val homozygotes. These results provide mechanistic insight into genetically-determined interindividual differences of inhibitory control with higher cortical dopamine associated with momentary response hesitation, and lower dopamine leading to motor impulsivity., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Graphene oxide (GO) has attracted huge attention in biomedical sciences due to its outstanding properties and potential applications. In this study, we synthesized GO using our recently developed 1-pyrenebutyric acid-assisted method and assessed how the GO as a filler influences the mechanical properties of GO-gelatine nanocomposite dry films as well as the cytotoxicity of HEK-293 cells grown on the GO-gelatine substrates. We show that the addition of GO (0-2%) improves the mechanical properties of gelatine in a concentration-dependent manner. The presence of 2 wt% GO increased the tensile strength, elasticity, ductility, and toughness of the gelatine films by about 3.1-, 2.5-, 2-, and 8-fold, respectively. Cell viability, apoptosis, and necrosis analyses showed no cytotoxicity from GO. Furthermore, we performed circular dichroism, X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses to decipher the interactions between GO and gelatine. The results show, for the first time, that GO enhances the mechanical properties of gelatine by forming non-covalent intermolecular interactions with gelatine at its amorphous or disordered regions. We believe that our findings will provide new insight and help pave the way for potential and wide applications of GO in tissue engineering and regenerative biomedicine.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is highly heterogeneous in etiology and clinical presentation. Findings on intrinsic functional connectivity (FC) or task-induced FC in ASD have been inconsistent including both over- and underconnectivity and diverse regional patterns. As FC patterns change across different cognitive demands, a novel and more comprehensive approach to network architecture in ASD is to examine the change in FC patterns between rest and task states, referred to as reconfiguration. This approach is suitable for investigating inefficient network connectivity that may underlie impaired behavioral functioning in clinical disorders. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine FC reconfiguration during lexical processing, which is often affected in ASD, with additional focus on interindividual variability. Thirty adolescents with ASD and a matched group of 23 typically developing (TD) participants completed a lexicosemantic decision task during fMRI, using multiecho-multiband pulse sequences with advanced BOLD signal sensitivity and artifact removal. Regions of interest (ROIs) were selected based on task-related activation across both groups, and FC and reconfiguration were compared between groups. The ASD group showed increased interindividual variability and overall greater reconfiguration than the TD group. An ASD subgroup with typical performance accuracy (at the level of TD participants) showed reduced similarity and typicality of FC during the task. In this ASD subgroup, greater FC reconfiguration was associated with increased language skills. Findings suggest that intrinsic functional networks in ASD may be inefficiently organized for lexicosemantic decisions and may require greater reconfiguration during task processing, with high performance levels in some individuals being achieved through idiosyncratic mechanisms., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

After recovering from the acute COVID-19 illness, a substantial proportion of people continue experiencing post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), also termed "long COVID". Their quality of life is adversely impacted by persistent cognitive dysfunction and affective distress, but the underlying neural mechanisms are poorly understood. The present study recruited a group of mostly young, previously healthy adults (24.4 ± 5.2 years of age) who experienced PASC for almost 6 months following a mild acute COVID-19 illness. Confirming prior evidence, they reported noticeable memory and attention deficits, brain fog, depression/anxiety, fatigue, and other symptoms potentially suggestive of excitation/inhibition imbalance. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H-MRS) was used to examine the neurochemical aspects of cell signaling with an emphasis on GABA levels in the occipital cortex. The PASC participants were compared to a control (CNT) group matched in demographics, intelligence, and an array of other variables. Controlling for tissue composition, biological sex, and alcohol intake, the PASC group had lower GABA+/water than CNT, which correlated with depression and poor sleep quality. The mediation analysis revealed that the impact of PASC on depression was partly mediated by lower GABA+/water, indicative of cortical hyperexcitability as an underlying mechanism. In addition, N-acetylaspartate (NAA) tended to be lower in the PASC group, possibly suggesting compromised neuronal integrity. Persistent neuroinflammation may contribute to the pathogenesis of PASC-related neurocognitive dysfunction.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterized by chronic widespread musculoskeletal pain and psychological distress. Research suggests people with FM experience increased somatosensory sensitization which generalizes to other sensory modalities and may indicate neural hyperexcitability. However, the available evidence is limited, and studies including measures of neural responsivity across sensory domains and both central and peripheral aspects of the neuraxis are lacking. Thirty-nine participants (51.5 ± 13.6 years of age) with no history of neurological disorders, psychosis, visual, auditory, or learning deficits, were recruited for this study. People with FM (N = 19) and control participants (CNT, N = 20) did not differ on demographic variables and cognitive capacity. Participants completed a task that combined innocuous auditory stimuli with electrocutaneous stimulation (ECS), delivered at individually-selected levels that were uncomfortable but not painful. Event-related potentials (ERPs) and electrodermal activity were analyzed to examine the central and sympathetic indices of neural responsivity. FM participants reported greater sensitivity to ECS and auditory stimulation, as well as higher levels of depression, anxiety, ADHD, and an array of pain-related experiences than CNT. In response to ECS, the P50 deflection was greater in FM than CNT participants, reflecting early somatosensory hyperexcitability. The P50 amplitude was positively correlated with the FM profile factor obtained with a principal component analysis. The N100 to innocuous tones and sympathetic reactivity to ECS were greater in FM participants, except in the subgroup treated with gabapentinoids, which aligns with previous evidence of symptomatic improvement with GABA-mimetic medications. These results support the principal tenet of generalized neural hyperexcitability in FM and provide preliminary mechanistic insight into the impact of GABA-mimetic pharmacological therapy on ameliorating the neural excitation dominance., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors.)

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) vary in their language abilities, associated with atypical patterns of brain activity. However, few studies have examined the spatiotemporal profiles of lexico-semantic processing in ASD, particularly as a function of language heterogeneity. Thirty-nine high-functioning adolescents with ASD and 21 typically developing (TD) peers took part in a lexical decision task that combined semantic access with demands on cognitive control. Spatiotemporal characteristics of the processing stages were examined with a multimodal anatomically-constrained magnetoencephalography (aMEG) approach, which integrates MEG with structural MRI. Additional EEG data were acquired from a limited montage simultaneously with MEG. TD adolescents showed the canonical left-dominant activity in frontotemporal regions during both early (N250m) and late (N400m) stages of lexical access and semantic integration. In contrast, the ASD participants showed bilateral engagement of the frontotemporal language network, indicative of compensatory recruitment of the right hemisphere. The left temporal N400m was prominent in both groups, confirming preserved attempts to access meaning. In contrast, the left prefrontal N400m was reduced in ASD participants, consistent with impaired semantic/contextual integration and inhibitory control. To further investigate the impact of language proficiency, the ASD sample was stratified into high- and low-performing (H-ASD and L-ASD) subgroups based on their task accuracy. The H-ASD subgroup performed on par with the TD group and showed greater activity in the right prefrontal and bilateral temporal cortices relative to the L-ASD subgroup, suggesting compensatory engagement. The L-ASD subgroup additionally showed reduced and delayed left prefrontal N400m, consistent with more profound semantic and executive impairments in this subgroup. These distinct spatiotemporal activity profiles reveal the neural underpinnings of the ASD-specific access to meaning and provide insight into the phenotypic heterogeneity of language in ASD, which may be a result of different neurodevelopmental trajectories and adoption of compensatory strategies., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Young emerging adults commonly engage in binge drinking which is associated with a range of neurocognitive deficits, including memory impairments. However, evidence on neural oscillations mediating episodic memory in this population is lacking. To address this gap, we recorded theta oscillatory activity in young binge (BDs) and light drinkers (LDs) during memory encoding and analyzed it prospectively as a function of subsequent retrieval. Theta underlies successful encoding of novel items in memory through corticolimbic integration. Subsequent memory effects (SMEs) are reflected in stronger theta activity during encoding of the items that are later remembered compared to those that are later forgotten., Methods: In the present study, 23 BDs (age: 23.3 ± 3.3) and 24 LDs (age: 23.4 ± 3.3) rated emotionally evocative images with negative, positive, and neutral themes during implicit encoding. They performed a recognition memory task on two follow-up occasions after a short (48 h), and long retention delay (6 months). Electroencephalography (EEG) signal was recorded during the encoding session and analyzed in time-frequency domain with Morlet wavelets in theta band (4-7 Hz). To evaluate SMEs, the event-related theta oscillations acquired during encoding were analyzed based on recognition outcomes after the two retention intervals., Results: The BD and LD groups did not differ on recognition memory. However, BDs showed attenuated event-related theta power during encoding of images that were successfully retained after 6 months compared to LDs. In addition, theta synchronous activity between frontal and left posterior regions during encoding successfully predicted recognition of the images after both retention delays in LDs but not in BDs. These SMEs on theta power and synchrony correlated negatively with high-intensity drinking in the previous 6 months. No differences between men and women were observed for any analysis., Discussion: It has been well established that long-range neural synchrony between cortical and limbic nodes underlies successful memory encoding and retention which, in turn, depends on neural excitation/inhibition (E/I) balance. Given that binge drinking is associated with E/I dysregulation, the observed SME deficiencies are consistent with other evidence of neural hyperexcitability in BDs, and may be indicative of increased risk of developing alcohol use disorders., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Huang, White and Marinkovic.)

Background: Alcohol intoxication impairs inhibitory control, resulting in disinhibited, impulsive behavior. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) plays an essential role in a range of executive functions and is sensitive to the effects of alcohol, which contributes to the top-down cognitive dysregulation. This study used a multimodal approach to examine the acute effects of alcohol on the neural underpinnings of inhibitory control, inhibition failures, and neurobehavioral optimization as reflected in trial-to-trial dynamics of post-error adjustments., Methods: Adult social drinkers served as their own controls by participating in the Go/NoGo task during acute alcohol and placebo conditions in a multi-session, counterbalanced design. Distributed source modeling of the magnetoencephalographic signal was combined with structural magnetic resonance imaging to characterize the spatio-temporal dynamics of inhibitory control in the time-frequency domain., Results: Successful response inhibition (NoGo) elicited right-lateralized event-related theta power (4 to 7 Hz). Errors elicited a short-latency increase in theta power in the dorsal (dACC), followed by activity in the rostral (rACC), which may underlie an affective "oh, no!" orienting response to errors. Error-related theta in the dACC was associated with subsequent activity of the motor areas on the first post-error trial, suggesting the occurrence of post-error output adjustments. Importantly, a gradual increase of the dACC theta across post-error trials closely tracked improvements in accuracy under placebo, which may reflect cognitive control engagement to optimize response accuracy. In contrast, alcohol increased NoGo commission errors, dysregulated theta during correct NoGo withholding, and abolished the post-error theta enhancement of cognitive control., Conclusions: Confirming the sensitivity of frontal theta to inhibitory control and error monitoring, the results support functional and temporal dissociation along the dorso-rostral axis of the ACC and the deleterious effects of alcohol on the frontal circuitry subserving top-down regulation. Over time, alcohol-induced disinhibition may give rise to compulsive drinking and contribute to alcohol misuse., (© 2022 The Authors. Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Research Society on Alcoholism.)

Binge drinking refers to a pattern of alcohol intake that raises blood alcohol concentration to or above legal intoxication levels. It is common among young adults and is associated with health risks that scale up with alcohol intake. Acute intoxication depresses neural activity via complex signaling mechanisms by enhancing inhibition mediated by gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA), and by decreasing excitatory glutamatergic effects. Evidence primarily rooted in animal research indicates that the brain compensates for the acute depressant effects under the conditions of habitual heavy use. These neuroadaptive changes are reflected in neural hyperexcitability via downregulated inhibitory signaling, which becomes apparent as withdrawal symptoms. However, human evidence on the compensatory reduction in GABA signaling is scant. The neurochemical aspect of this mechanistic model was evaluated in the present study with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H-MRS) which is sensitive to GABA plus macromolecule signal (GABA + ). Furthermore, we examined sex differences in GABA + levels as a function of a recent history of binge drinking, given interactions between endogenous neurosteroids, GABA signaling, and alcohol. The study recruited young adult women and men (22.2 ± 2.8 years of age) who were classified as binge drinkers (BDs, N = 52) if they reported ≥ 5 binge episodes in the previous six months. Light drinkers (LDs, N = 49) reported drinking regularly, but not exceeding ≤ 2 binge episodes in the past six months. GABA-edited 1 H-MR spectra were acquired from the occipital cortex at 3 T with the MEGA-PRESS sequence. GABA + signal was analyzed relative to water and total creatine (Cr) levels as a function of binge drinking history and sex. Controlling for within-voxel tissue composition, both GABA + indices showed decreased GABA + levels in BDs relative to LDs. The reduced GABA + concentration was associated with occasional high-intensity drinking in the BD group. This evidence is consistent with compensatory GABA downregulation that accompanies alcohol misuse, tipping the excitation/inhibition balance towards hyperexcitability. Analysis of the time course of GABA + neuroplasticity indicated that GABA + was lowest when measured one day after the last drinking occasion in BDs. While the BD vs LD differences were primarily driven by LD women, there was no interaction between Sex and a history of binge drinking. GABA + was higher in LD women compared to LD men. Aligned with the allostasis model, the mechanistic compensatory GABA downregulation observed in young emerging adults engaging in occasional binge drinking complements direct neural measures of hyperexcitability in BDs. Notably, these results suggest that neuroadaptation to alcohol is detectable at the levels of consumption that are within a normative range, and may contribute to adverse health outcomes., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

We examined whether word processing is associated with subjective self-evaluation of cognition in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) as a function of their depressive symptoms. MTLE patients with (MTLE +d, N = 28) or without (MTLE -d, N = 11) depression were compared to pair-matched healthy control participants on free recall and self-relevance ratings of emotionally valenced words. Correlation and hierarchical analyses were conducted to investigate whether the subjective self-evaluation of cognition in MTLE patients is predicted by the negative emotional bias reflected in task performance. MTLE +d patients endorsed as self-relevant fewer positive words and more negative words than the MTLE -d patients and healthy participants. They also self-evaluated their cognition poorer than the MTLE -d patients. Analyses indicated that recall and self-endorsement of emotional words predicted both self-evaluation of cognition as well as epilepsy duration. Our findings indicate that negative self-relevance emotional bias is observed in MTLE patients and is predictive of subjective self-evaluation of cognition. Application of brief behavioral tasks probing emotional functions could be valuable for clinical research and practice in the patients with MTLE.

Inclusion of women in research on Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) has shown that gender differences contribute to unique profiles of cognitive, emotional, and neuropsychological dysfunction. We employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of abstinent individuals with a history of AUD (21 women [AUDw], 21 men [AUDm]) and demographically similar non-AUD control (NC) participants without AUD (21 women [NCw], 21 men [NCm]) to explore how gender and AUD interact to influence brain responses during emotional processing and memory. Participants completed a delayed match-to-sample emotional face memory fMRI task, and brain activation contrasts between a fixation stimulus and pictures of emotional face elicited a similar overall pattern of activation for all four groups. Significant Group by Gender interactions revealed two activation clusters. A cluster in an anterior portion of the middle and superior temporal gyrus, elicited lower activation to the fixation stimulus than to faces for the AUDw as compared to the NCw; that abnormality was more pronounced than the one observed for men. Another cluster in the medial portion of the superior frontal cortex elicited higher activation to the faces by AUDm than NCm, a difference that was more evident than the one observed for women. Together, these findings have added new evidence of AUD-related gender differences in neural responses to facial expressions of emotion., Competing Interests: K.S.S. is an employee of Sawyer Scientific, LLC. This does not alter our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials. There are no patents, products in development or marketed products to declare.

Inhibitory control relies on attention, inhibition, and other functions that are integrated across neural networks in an interactive manner. Functional MRI studies have provided excellent spatial mapping of the involved regions. However, finer temporal resolution is needed to capture the underlying neural dynamics and the pattern of their functional contributions. Here, we used anatomically-constrained magnetoencephalography (aMEG) which combines MEG with structural MRI to examine how the spatial ("where") and temporal ("when") processing stages and interregional co-oscillations unfold in real time to contribute to inhibitory control. Healthy participants completed a modified Go/NoGo paradigm in which a subset of stimuli was modified to be visually salient (SAL). Compared to the non-modified condition, the SAL manipulation facilitated response withholding on NoGo trials and hindered responding to Go stimuli, reflecting attentional capture effectuated by an orienting response to SAL stimuli. aMEG source estimates indicate SAL stimuli elicited the attentional "circuit breaker" effect through early activity within a right-lateralized network centered around the lateral temporal cortex with additional activity in the pre-supplementary motor area (preSMA) and anterior insula (aINS/FO). Activity of the bilateral inferior frontal cortex responded specifically to inhibitory demands and was generally unaffected by the attentional manipulation. In contrast, early aINS/FO activity was sensitive to stimulus salience while subsequent activity was specific to inhibitory control. Activity estimated to the medial prefrontal cortex including the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and preSMA reflected an integrative role that was sensitive to both inhibitory and attentional stimulus properties. At the level of neurofunctional networks, neural synchrony in the theta band (4-7 Hz) revealed interactions between principal cortical regions subserving attentional and inhibitory processes. Together, these results underscore the dynamic, integrative processing stages underlying inhibitory control., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Animal studies have established that acute alcohol increases neural inhibition and that frequent intoxication episodes elicit neuroadaptive changes in the excitatory/inhibitory neurotransmission balance. To compensate for the depressant effects of alcohol, neural hyperexcitability develops in alcohol use disorder and is manifested through withdrawal symptoms. It is unclear, however, whether neuroadaptive changes can be observed in young, emerging adults at lower levels of consumption in the absence of withdrawal symptoms. Here, we used an anatomically constrained magnetoencephalography method to assess cortical excitability in two independent sets of experiments. We measured early visual activity (1) in social drinkers during alcohol intoxication versus placebo conditions and (2) in parallel cohorts of sober binge drinkers (BDs) and light drinkers (LDs). Acute alcohol intoxication attenuated early sensory activity in the visual cortex in social drinkers, confirming its inhibitory effects on neurotransmission. In contrast, sober BDs showed greater neural responsivity compared with a matched group of LDs. A positive correlation between alcohol consumption and neural activity in BDs is indicative of cortical hyperexcitability associated with hazardous drinking. Furthermore, neural responsivity was positively correlated with alcohol intake in social drinkers whose drinking did not reach binge levels. This study provides novel evidence of compensatory imbalance reflected in the downregulation of inhibitory and upregulation of excitatory signaling associated with binge drinking in young, emerging adults. By contrasting acute effects and a history of BD, these results support the mechanistic model of allostasis. Direct neural measures are sensitive to synaptic currents and could serve as biomarkers of neuroadaptation., (© 2020 Society for the Study of Addiction.)