TY - JOUR
T1 - Sexually dimorphic brain volume interaction in college-aged binge drinkers
AU - Kvamme, Timo L.
AU - Schmidt, Casper
AU - Strelchuk, Daniela
AU - Chang-Webb, Yee Chien
AU - Baek, Kwangyeol
AU - Voon, Valerie
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 The Authors.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Background Binge consumption of alcohol is a major societal problem associated with important cognitive, physiological and neurotoxic consequences. Converging evidence highlights the need to assess binge drinking (BD) and its effects on the developing brain while taking into account gender differences. Here, we compared the brain volumetric differences between genders in college-aged binge drinkers and healthy volunteers. Method T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of 30 binge drinkers (18 males) and 46 matched healthy volunteers (23 males) were examined using voxel-based morphometry. The anatomical scans were covaried with Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores. Whole brain voxel-wise group comparisons were performed using a cluster extent threshold correction. Results Several large clusters qualified with group-by-gender interactions were observed in prefrontal, striatal and medial temporal areas, whereby BD females had more volume than non-BD females, while males showed the inverse pattern of decreased volume in BD males and increased volume in non-BD males. AUDIT scores negatively correlated with volume in the right superior frontal cortex and precentral gyrus. Conclusions These findings dovetail with previous studies reporting that a state effect of BD in college-aged drinkers and the severity of alcohol use are associated with volumetric alterations in the cortical and subcortical areas of the brain. Our study indicates that these widespread volumetric changes vary differentially by gender, suggesting either sexual dimorphic endophenotypic risk factors, or differential neurotoxic sensitivities for males and females.
AB - Background Binge consumption of alcohol is a major societal problem associated with important cognitive, physiological and neurotoxic consequences. Converging evidence highlights the need to assess binge drinking (BD) and its effects on the developing brain while taking into account gender differences. Here, we compared the brain volumetric differences between genders in college-aged binge drinkers and healthy volunteers. Method T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of 30 binge drinkers (18 males) and 46 matched healthy volunteers (23 males) were examined using voxel-based morphometry. The anatomical scans were covaried with Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores. Whole brain voxel-wise group comparisons were performed using a cluster extent threshold correction. Results Several large clusters qualified with group-by-gender interactions were observed in prefrontal, striatal and medial temporal areas, whereby BD females had more volume than non-BD females, while males showed the inverse pattern of decreased volume in BD males and increased volume in non-BD males. AUDIT scores negatively correlated with volume in the right superior frontal cortex and precentral gyrus. Conclusions These findings dovetail with previous studies reporting that a state effect of BD in college-aged drinkers and the severity of alcohol use are associated with volumetric alterations in the cortical and subcortical areas of the brain. Our study indicates that these widespread volumetric changes vary differentially by gender, suggesting either sexual dimorphic endophenotypic risk factors, or differential neurotoxic sensitivities for males and females.
KW - Adolescence
KW - Alcohol
KW - Binge drinking
KW - Gender
KW - Magnetic resonance imaging
KW - Neurodevelopment
KW - Striatum
KW - Voxel-based morphometry
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84953744023&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.nicl.2015.12.004
DO - 10.1016/j.nicl.2015.12.004
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 26900571
AN - SCOPUS:84953744023
SN - 2213-1582
VL - 10
SP - 310
EP - 317
JO - NeuroImage: Clinical
JF - NeuroImage: Clinical
ER -