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
. 2014 Dec;38(12):2925-33.
doi: 10.1111/acer.12568. Epub 2014 Nov 18.

Widespread effects of alcohol on white matter microstructure

Catherine B Fortier  1 , Elizabeth C Leritz, David H Salat, Emily Lindemer, Arkadiy L Maksimovskiy, Juli Shepel, Victoria Williams, Jonathan R Venne, William P Milberg, Regina E McGlinchey
Affiliations

Widespread effects of alcohol on white matter microstructure

Catherine B Fortier et al. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2014 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Evidence suggests that chronic misuse of alcohol may preferentially affect the integrity of frontal white matter (WM) tracts, which can impact executive functions important to achieve and maintain abstinence.

Methods: Global and regional WM microstructure was assessed using diffusion magnetic resonance measures of fractional anisotropy (FA) for 31 abstinent alcoholics (ALC) with an average of 25 years of abuse and approximately 5 years of sobriety and 20 nonalcoholic control (NC) participants. Data processing was conducted with FreeSurfer and FSL processing streams. Voxelwise processing of the FA data was carried out using tract-based spatial statistics. Clusters of significance were created to provide a quantitative summary of highly significant regions within the voxelwise analysis.

Results: Widespread, bilateral reductions in FA were observed in ALC as compared to NC participants in multiple frontal, temporal, parietal, and cerebellar WM tracts. FA in the left inferior frontal gyrus was associated with drinking severity.

Conclusions: This study found widespread reductions in WM integrity in a group of ALC compared to NC participants, with most pronounced effects in frontal and superior tracts. Decreased FA throughout the frontostriatal circuits that mediate inhibitory control may result in impulsive behavior and inability to maintain sobriety.

Keywords: Addiction; Alcoholism; Brain; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance; White Matter.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Fractional anistropy maps demonstrating decreased regional WM microstructure in ALC as compared to NC. The heat scale represents statistical p values as described in the figure color scale-bar. Reductions in FA in were bilateral and widespread throughout the cerebral WM.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Thirty-two clusters were generated, based on significance maps of the relationship between group assignment (ALC or NC) and FA. Clusters were widespread and included frontal, temporal, parietal, and cerebellar WM tracts. Four representative clusters are shown. Bar graphs show mean age-adjusted FA values (residualized) for each group with standard error bars.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Adams A. Studies on the flat electroencephalogram in man. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1959;11:35–41. - PubMed
    1. Abel EL, Kruger ML, Friedl J. How do physicians define “light,” “moderate,” and “heavy” drinking? Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1998;22(5):979–984. - PubMed
    1. Bendlin BB, Fitzgerald ME, Ries ML, Xu G, Kastman EK, Thiel BW, et al. White matter in aging and cognition: a cross-sectional study of microstructure in adults aged eighteen to eighty-three. Dev Neuropsychol. 2010;35(3):257–277. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brody AL, Mandelkern MA, Jarvik ME, Lee GS, Smith EC, Huang JC, et al. Differences between smokers and nonsmokers in regional gray matter volumes and densities. Biol Psychiatry. 2004;55(1):77–84. - PubMed
    1. Chanraud S, Martelli C, Delain F, Kostogianni N, Douaud G, Aubin HJ, et al. Brain morphometry and cognitive performance in detoxified alcohol-dependents with preserved psychosocial functioning. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2007;32(2):429–438. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources