Involvement of the Septal Nuclei of the Human Brain in Alcohol Use Disorder

Alcohol activates reward systems in different brain areas, i.e., the nucleus accumbens, dorsal striatum, extended amygdala, and prefrontal cortex. These areas are all part of the reward neurocircuitry, which plays an important role in the development of addiction. A former study performed on rodents has shown that a specific area of the forebrain, the septal nuclei, is associated with the feeling of reward and, hence, addiction when stimulated. However, whether the septal area is involved in reward and addiction in humans is sparsely investigated. The purpose of this brain-imaging study is to assess how the septal nuclei react to alcohol-related pictures shown to participants diagnosed with alcohol use disorder while lying in an MRI scanner, compared to people without a diagnosis of alcohol use disorder. This might give us a better understanding of how the septal nuclei is involved in reward and addiction.

NCT Number	NCT06866379
Lead Sponsor	Anders Fink-Jensen, MD, DMSci Collaborators: Neurobiology Research Unit, Rigshospitalet, The foundation of Mr. Ivan Nielsen, King Christian X foundation
Conditions	Alcohol Use Disorder
Enrollment	25 participants
Start Date	2025-05-07
Primary Completion	2025-09-01 (estimated)
Study Completion	2025-11-30 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2025-06-11