Alcohol Use Disorder and Its Comorbidity With HIV Infection Disrupts Anterior Cingulate Cortex Functional Connectivity

Abstract

Background: Individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) have a heightened risk of contracting HIV infection. The effects of these two diseases and their comorbidity on brain structure have been well described, but their effects on brain function have never been investigated at the scale of whole-brain connectomes.

Methods: In contrast with prior studies that restricted analyses to specific brain networks or examined relatively small groups of participants, our analyses are based on whole-brain functional connectomes of 292 participants.

Results: Relative to participants without AUD, the functional connectivity between the anterior cingulate cortex and orbitofrontal cortex was lower for participants with AUD. Compared with participants without AUD+HIV comorbidity, the functional connectivity between the anterior cingulate cortex and hippocampus was lower for the AUD+HIV participants. Compromised connectivity between these pairs was significantly correlated with greater total lifetime alcohol consumption; the effects of total lifetime alcohol consumption on executive functioning were significantly mediated by the functional connectivity between the pairs.

Conclusions: Taken together, our results suggest that the functional connectivity of the anterior cingulate cortex is disrupted in individuals with AUD alone and AUD with HIV infection comorbidity. Moreover, the affected connections are associated with deficits in executive functioning, including heightened impulsiveness.

Keywords: Alcohol use disorder; Alcoholism; Anterior cingulate cortex; HIV infection; Hippocampus; Orbitofrontal cortex; Resting state; fMRI.