Fig. 2.

Using a human valence network model to visualize the primary alterations in functional connectivity that are common to AUD and PTSD. (A) The major cortical and subcortical brain regions and functional connections involved in assigning a degree of positivity or negativity to all sensory and emotional stimuli, encoding the salience of this input, and orchestrating appropriate behavioral and cognitive responses to this information. (B) Illustration of major maladaptive alterations in valence network connectivity common to both AUD and PTSD, based primarily on data from human functional neuroimaging studies. These changes include an increase in BLA excitability driven, in part, by decreased mPFC and ACC connectivity (thinner line), and increased insula connectivity to this brain region (thicker line).