Cited by 29Substance Abuse Treatment and OutcomesNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Imaging resilience and recovery in alcohol dependence

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Charlet, Katrin, Rosenthal, Annika, Lohoff, Falk W., Heinz, Andreas, Beck, Anne·2018·Addiction

Abstract

Background and aims: Resilience and recovery are of increasing importance in the field of alcohol dependence (AD). This paper describes how imaging studies in man can be used to assess the neurobiological correlates of resilience and, if longitudinal, of disease trajectories, progression rates and markers for recovery to inform treatment and prevention options. Methods: Original papers on recovery and resilience in alcohol addiction and its neurobiological correlates were identified from PubMed and have been analyzed and condensed within a systematic literature review. Results: Findings deriving from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) studies have identified links between increased resilience and less task‐elicited neural activation within the basal ganglia, and benefits of heightened neural pre‐frontal cortex (PFC) engagement regarding resilience in a broader sense; namely, resilience against relapse in early abstinence of AD. Furthermore, findings consistently propose at least partial recovery of brain glucose metabolism and executive and general cognitive functioning, as well as structural plasticity effects throughout the brain of alcohol‐dependent patients during the course of short‐, medium‐ and long‐term abstinence, even when patients only lowered their alcohol consumption to a moderate level. Additionally, specific factors were found that appear to influence these observed brain recovery processes in AD, e.g. genotype‐dependent neuronal (re)growth, gender‐specific neural recovery effects, critical interfering effects of psychiatric comorbidities, additional smoking or marijuana influences or adolescent alcohol abuse. Conclusions: Neuroimaging research has uncovered neurobiological markers that appear to be linked to resilience and improved recovery capacities that are furthermore influenced by various factors such as gender or genetics. Consequently, future system‐oriented approaches may help to establish a broad neuroscience‐based research framework for alcohol dependence.

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  • Neuroimaging studies support the role of resilience-based practices, including those embedded in Alcoholics Anonymous, in promoting dopamine homeostasis and neural recovery.

    “Neuroimaging studies support the role of resilience-based practices, including those embedded in Alcoholics Anonymous, in promoting dopamine homeostasis and neural recovery.”

    From Beyond Stigma–Integrating Neurobiology, Genetics, and Awareness Integration Theory in Addiction Recovery (2026) · cites this paper as [13]

    The Results sections on PET studies and the Discussion link neuroimaging findings to dopaminergic markers of resilience and to brain recovery during abstinence. They do not show that resilience-based practices, including Alcoholics Anonymous practices, promote dopamine homeostasis or neural recovery. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • fMRI and PET studies have demonstrated that resilience is associated with lower task-elicited neural activation in the basal ganglia and enhanced prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity, particularly in the context of relapse prevention during early abstinence from substance use.

    “Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) studies have demonstrated that resilience is associated with lower task-elicited neural activation in the basal ganglia and enhanced prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity, particularly in the context of relapse prevention during early abstinence from substance use.”

    From Beyond Stigma–Integrating Neurobiology, Genetics, and Awareness Integration Theory in Addiction Recovery (2026) · cites this paper as [13]

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  • These neural adaptations appear to be influenced by several moderating factors, including genotype-dependent neuronal regeneration, gender-specific neural recovery, psychiatric comorbidities, concurrent use of tobacco or marijuana, and adolescent alcohol abuse.

    “These neural adaptations appear to be influenced by several moderating factors, including genotype-dependent neuronal regeneration, gender-specific neural recovery, psychiatric comorbidities, concurrent use of tobacco or marijuana, and adolescent alcohol abuse.13”

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Authors
Charlet, K., Rosenthal, A., Lohoff, F. W., Heinz, A., & Beck, A.
Affiliations
  • National Institutes of Health (US)
  • Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (DE)
Corresponding author
Charlet, Katrin
Venue
Addiction
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2018-06-04
Volume
113
Issue
10
Pages
1933-1950
ISSN
  • 0965-2140 (ISSN-L)
  • 1360-0443
OpenAlex
W2800431876
Cited by
29
References
80
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 5
FWCI
0.54
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Addiction (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (CH 1936/1‐1Excellence Cluster Exc 257FOR 16/17HE2597 13‐1/2, 14‐1/2, 15‐1/2)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
alcoholism, resilience, recovery, neuroimaging, abstinence, relapse, basal ganglia, prefrontal cortex, brain glucose metabolism, structural brain plasticity, executive function, cognitive recovery, genetic factors, gender differences, psychiatric comorbidity, smoking, cannabis, adolescent alcohol abuse, neurobiological markers
MeSH terms
Mental Health Recovery, Alcoholism, Basal Ganglia, Brain, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Prefrontal Cortex, Positron-Emission Tomography, Resilience, Psychological, Functional Neuroimaging

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