In:
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Wiley, Vol. 59, No. 6 ( 2018-06), p. 650-658
Abstract:
Nociceptin is a key regulator linking environmental stress and alcohol drinking. In a genome‐wide methylation analysis, we recently identified an association of a methylated region in the OPRL 1 gene with alcohol‐use disorders. Methods Here, we investigate the biological basis of this observation by analysing psychosocial stressors, methylation of the OPRL 1 gene, brain response during reward anticipation and alcohol drinking in 660 fourteen‐year‐old adolescents of the IMAGEN study. We validate our findings in marchigian sardinian (msP) alcohol‐preferring rats that are genetically selected for increased alcohol drinking and stress sensitivity. Results We found that low methylation levels in intron 1 of OPRL 1 are associated with higher psychosocial stress and higher frequency of binge drinking, an effect mediated by OPRL 1 methylation. In individuals with low methylation of OPRL 1 , frequency of binge drinking is associated with stronger BOLD response in the ventral striatum during reward anticipation. In msP rats, we found that stress results in increased alcohol intake and decreased methylation of OPRL 1 in the nucleus accumbens. Conclusions Our findings describe an epigenetic mechanism that helps to explain how psychosocial stress influences risky alcohol consumption and reward processing, thus contributing to the elucidation of biological mechanisms underlying risk for substance abuse.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0021-9630
,
1469-7610
DOI:
10.1111/jcpp.2018.59.issue-6
Language:
English
Publisher:
Wiley
Publication Date:
2018
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1470297-6
SSG:
5,2