Dopamine Transporter Gene Methylation is Associated with Nucleus Accumbens Activation During Reward Processing in Healthy but not Alcohol-Dependent Individuals.

Our data suggest that methylation in the promoter region of SLC6A3 predicts NAc activation during the anticipation of monetary loss in HCs. However, this effect was not present in the ALC group, suggesting that epigenetic regulation of striatal DAT expression might be disrupted in ALC, which may contribute to previously reported differences in sensitivity to reward and punishment in this population. Alternatively, it is possible that a similar relationship in the ALC group remained undetected possibly due to methodological limitations inherent in functional MRI (e.g., poor spatial resolution, low signal-to-noise ratio) that generally restrict interpretations regarding mechanisms of epigenetic factors involved in group differences in BOLD responses. Future neuroimaging studies are needed to further elucidate the relationship between SLC6A3 methylation and NAc activation in ALC.