Alcohol cue reactivity and inhibitory control in young adults at risk for alcohol use disorder.

OBJECTIVE

This study examined whether automatic and reflective neurocognitive processes differ as a function of alcohol use risk, sex, and cue type among young adult binge drinkers.

METHOD: Eighty healthy young adults (71% female; Mage = 20.8 years) who reported at least two binge drinking episodes in the past month completed alcohol-cued Oddball and Go/NoGo tasks while electroencephalography was recorded. Event-related potentials indexing alcohol cue reactivity (P3) and inhibitory control (NoGo N2) were analyzed. Participants were stratified into higher and lower risk groups using k-means cluster analysis based on typical alcohol use, binge frequency, alcohol sensitivity, and Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test scores. Linear mixed models examined effects of risk group, sex, and task condition on event-related potential and behavioral outcomes.

RESULTS

Cluster analysis yielded two distinct risk groups. Inhibitory control, but not cue reactivity, differed by risk status and cue type. Higher risk individuals demonstrated reduced NoGo accuracy and faster false-alarm reaction times to alcohol cues. In addition, larger NoGo N2 amplitudes were observed during alcohol-cued trials among higher risk individuals, suggesting increased conflict-related neural processing.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight alcohol-cued inhibitory control conflict as a potential neurocognitive marker of vulnerability to alcohol use disorder. While cue reactivity did not differ across risk groups, differences in reflective control processes underscore the value of event-related potential markers for identifying mechanisms of alcohol-related risk. Person-centered approaches may enhance risk stratification and clarify how cognitive control systems operate in at-risk drinkers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).