Not lesser but Greater fractional anisotropy in adolescents with alcohol use disorders.
Neuroimage Clin
; 2: 804-9, 2013.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-24179831
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
The objective of this study is to examine white matter microstructure using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in a sample of adolescents with alcohol use disorders (AUD) and no psychiatric or substance co-morbidity.METHODS:
Fifty adolescents with AUD and fifty non-alcohol abusing controls matched on gender and age were studied with DTI, neurocognitive testing, and a clinical assessment that included measures of alcohol use and childhood trauma. Maps of fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were computed, registered to a common template, and voxel-wise statistical analysis used to assess group differences. Associations between regions of altered WM microstructure and clinical or neurocognitive measures were also assessed.RESULTS:
Compared with controls, adolescent drinkers without co-morbid substance abuse or externalizing disorder, showed 1) no regions of significantly lower FA, 2) increased FA in WM tracts of the limbic system; 3) no MD differences; and 4) within the region of higher FA in AUD, there were no associations between FA and alcohol use, cognition, or trauma.DISCUSSION:
The most important observation of this study is our failure to observe significantly smaller FA in this relatively large alcohol abuse/dependent adolescent sample. Greater FA in the limbic regions observed in this study may index a risk for adolescent AUD instead of a consequence of drinking. Drinking behavior may be reinforced in those with higher FA and perhaps greater myelination in these brain regions involved in reward and reinforcement.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Neuroimage Clin
Ano de publicação:
2013
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos