Impact of Alcohol Exposure on Reward Circuits and Decision-Making

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About this Research Topic

Submission deadlines

  1. Manuscript Summary Submission Deadline 12 January 2026 | Manuscript Submission Deadline 2 May 2026

  2. This Research Topic is currently accepting articles.

    1. Check author guidelines

Background

As described by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), alcohol use disorder is a chronic relapsing disorder characterized by loss of control over alcohol intake despite impairments in social, occupational, and health functions. Alcohol consumption that is heavy or frequent can lead a subset of people to transition from recreational to excessive use. In the United States alone, excessive alcohol use is responsible for nearly 140,000 deaths annually, according to estimates published by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (2022). It is therefore imperative to uncover the brain mechanisms behind alcohol use disorders to find novel therapeutic interventions. This Research Topic aims to unravel the neural mechanisms that mediate and change during chronic alcohol use and their impact on decision making.

We welcome contributions with human and/or animal subjects. Research with human subjects can capture neuronal activity using technologies like fMRI, fNIRs, and EEG. Animal studies, which may focus on effects of withdrawal, craving and relapse, can use techniques such as in vitro and in vivo electrophysiology, calcium imaging, fiber photometry, optogenetics, chemogenetics and other pharmacological interventions, that help understand the neurobiological basis of the disorder.

We invite contributions addressing (but not limited to) the following themes:

- Developmental and environmental factors can be predictive markers of risk for high alcohol use: Familial history, stress or trauma can increase drug reward sensitivity, risk preference and impulsivity that contribute to increased susceptibility to elevated alcohol use.

- Sex differences in alcohol use.

- Alcohol use despite negative consequences: Differences in the brain circuitry of human and animal models that contribute to compulsive alcohol seeking and intake as compared to control subjects.

- Novel behavioural measures during decision-making: Quantifying key processes including preference formation, choice implementation and feedback processing, to understand impaired goal-directed behaviours in chronic alcohol use models.

- Role of external and internal stimuli in alcohol use: Neural circuit response and modulation to external cues and contexts as well as interoceptive states that are associated with alcohol.

This Research Topic offers a unique opportunity to foster interdisciplinary dialogue across diverse fields (e.g., cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and systems neuroscience). By contributing, authors will:

- Generate novel insights about how developmental factors, environmental stimuli, internal states and sex may determine the propensity for excessive and compulsive alcohol intake, thereby uncovering individual variability.

- Inform the design of novel behavioural measures (e.g. quantifying subjective valuation during decision-making) that correlate with high alcohol intake levels.

- Enhance the understanding of the role of concrete brain circuits in alcohol seeking using neuromodulation and neuronal recording techniques.

- Bridge the gap between humans and animals in targeting neural pathways for preventing craving and relapse.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

  • Brief Research Report
  • Case Report
  • Clinical Trial
  • Data Report
  • Editorial
  • FAIR² Data
  • General Commentary
  • Hypothesis and Theory
  • Methods

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

  • Brief Research Report
  • Case Report
  • Clinical Trial
  • Data Report
  • Editorial
  • FAIR² Data
  • General Commentary
  • Hypothesis and Theory
  • Methods
  • Mini Review
  • Opinion
  • Original Research
  • Perspective
  • Review
  • Systematic Review

Keywords: Alcohol, circuits, decision making, addiction, stimuli, electrophysiology, calcium imaging, fiber photometry

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

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Participating Journals

Manuscripts can be submitted to this Research Topic via the main journal or any other participating journal.

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