Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 May;44(3):201-10.
doi: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2010.03.003.

Cortical perfusion in alcohol-dependent individuals during short-term abstinence: relationships to resumption of hazardous drinking after treatment

Timothy C Durazzo  1 , Stefan Gazdzinski, Anderson Mon, Dieter J Meyerhoff
Affiliations

Cortical perfusion in alcohol-dependent individuals during short-term abstinence: relationships to resumption of hazardous drinking after treatment

Timothy C Durazzo et al. Alcohol. 2010 May.

Abstract

Relapse to hazardous levels of alcohol consumption after treatment for alcohol use disorders is common. Investigation of the neurobiological correlates of resumption of hazardous drinking is necessary to clarify the mechanisms contributing to relapse. Fifty-seven treatment-seeking alcohol-dependent participants (ALC) completed arterial spin labeling perfusion MRI of the frontal and parietal gray matter (GM) at 7+/-3 days of abstinence (baseline). ALC participants were restudied after 35+/-11 days of abstinence (assessment point 2: AP2). Twenty-eight nonsmoking, light-drinking control participants (nsLD) from the community were studied with perfusion MRI. ALC participants were followed over 12 months after baseline study and were classified as abstainers (no alcohol consumption; n=19) and resumers (any alcohol consumption; n=38) at follow-up. Cross-sectional and longitudinal perfusion was compared in abstainers, resumers, and nsLD. At baseline, resumers demonstrated significantly lower frontal and parietal GM perfusion than nsLD and abstainers. Abstainers and nsLD were not different on frontal or parietal GM perfusion. No significant longitudinal perfusion changes were observed in abstainers and resumers. At AP2, resumers showed significantly lower frontal GM perfusion than nsLD and abstainers, whereas no group differences were observed for parietal GM. Abstainers and nsLD were not different on frontal GM perfusion. The significantly decreased frontal GM perfusion in resumers compared with both abstainers and nsLD across the assessment interval suggests premorbid and/or acquired neurobiological abnormalities of the frontal GM in resumers.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Baseline and AP2 frontal gray matter perfusion for nsLD, Abstainers and Resumers (mean, error bars are standard error)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Baseline and AP2 parietal gray matter perfusion for nsLD, Abstainers and Resumers (mean, error bars are standard error)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Agartz I, Brag S, Franck J, Hammarberg A, Okugawa G, Svinhufvud K, Bergman H. Mr volumetry during acute alcohol withdrawal and abstinence: a descriptive study. Alcohol Alcohol. 2003;38:71–78. - PubMed
    1. Baler RD, Volkow ND. Drug addiction: the neurobiology of disrupted self-control. Trends Mol Med. 2006;12:559–566. - PubMed
    1. Beck AT. Depression Inventory. Center for Cognitive Therapy; Philadelphia: 1978.
    1. Bottlender M, Soyka M. Efficacy of an intensive outpatient rehabilitation program in alcoholism: predictors of outcome 6 months after treatment. Eur Addict Res. 2005;11:132–137. - PubMed
    1. Bradizza CM, Stasiewicz PR, Paas ND. Relapse to alcohol and drug use among individuals diagnosed with co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders: a review. Clin Psychol Rev. 2006;26:162–178. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms