The proposed project will utilize perfusion functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to
examine the effects of topiramate on brain and behavioral responses in heavy drinkers to
appetitive alcohol reminders (cues that motivate continued alcohol use and relapse). This
project will yield novel findings on brain and behavioral responses to alcohol cues, the
effects of topiramate on alcohol cue reactivity, and the mechanisms underlying topiramate's
ability to blunt alcohol cue reactivity and heavy drinking.