Cerebellar Involvement in Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD)

The goal of this observational and interventional study is to better understand the involvement of the cerebellum in the brain reward system in persons with alcohol use disorder (AUD). The main questions it aims to answer are:What is the nature of cerebellar input to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in the brain reward system, and how is it perturbed in AUD?What is the relationship between measures of cerebellar integrity and magnitude of reward activation to alcohol-related cues in cerebellar, VTA and other brain reward structures?What is the therapeutic potential of cerebellar transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) for modulating alcohol cue reactivity, associated alcohol craving, and cerebellar - VTA functional connectivity in the brain reward system? Persons with AUD will be compared with healthy control participants.

Inclusion Criteria:completed at least 8 years of educationExclusion Criteria:Estimated Intelligence Quotient (IQ) < 90less than 5th grade reading levelLeft handedNon-native English speakercurrent drug use disorder other than alcohol (except nicotine and caffeine) and or recent drug use in the last 90 daysPositive breath alcohol level at time of MRI scan or discrepancies between alcohol biomarker and self-report that cannot be resolvedExhibiting symptoms of alcohol withdrawal on visit 1 assessmentSignificant current psychiatric distress and or treatmentHistory of any central nervous system disorder, presence of a seizure disorder, or use of anticonvulsant medication in the past 3 monthsany serious medical condition detected on assessment or by medical record review; or have liver function tests more than three times normal at screeningHistory of metal implantation that would preclude MRI scanning; or other implants, pumps, pacemakers that would be contraindications for MRI scanningAbnormal MRI scan or history of significant closed head traumaEvidence of dementiaFor women, pregnancy