A structural MRI study of differential neuromorphometric characteristics of binge and heavy drinking

Abstract

Background Alcohol misuse often manifests in two different patterns of drinking; Binge Drinking (BD; ≥4 (women) or ≥ 5 (men) drinks/day, ≤12 days/month) or Heavy Drinking (HD; ≥3 (women) or ≥4 (men) drinks/day, ≥16 days/month). Although direct comparisons have not been made, structural MRI studies indicate that the two types of drinking behaviors might be associated with different neuromorphometric characteristics. Methods This study used a cross-sectional design to compare brain structure (using MRI derived subcortical volume and cortical thickness measures) between participants with histories of BD ( N = 16), HD ( N = 15), and Healthy Controls (HC; N = 21). Whole-brain analyses were used to quantify group differences in subcortical volume and cortical thickness. Resulting cortical thickness clusters were quantified for their areas of overlap with resting-state network parcellations. Results BD was associated with decreased volumes of the bilateral global pallidus and decreased cortical thickness within the left superior-parietal cluster ( p < .05). This cortical cluster overlapped in surface area with the dorsal-attention (50.86%) and the fronto-parietal network parcellations (49.14%). HD was associated with increased cortical thickness in the left medial occipito-parietal cluster ( p < .05). This cluster primarily overlapped with the visual network parcellation (89%) and, to a lesser extent, with a widespread number of network parcellations (dorsal-attention: 3.8%; fronto-parietal: 3.5%; default-mode: 3.2%). Conclusions These data indicate that histories of BD and HD patterns are associated with distinct neuromorphometric characteristics. BD was associated with changes within the executive control networks and the globus pallidus. HD was associated with widespread changes, that are primarily localized within the visual network.

Age of onset of adolescent binge drinking is differentially associated with cortical thickness in post‐9/11 adult Veterans

“…As was done in Maksimovskiy et al (2019) and Fortier et al (2020), we defined a binge drinker as an individual who reported a pattern of consuming four or more drinks per day (females) or five or more drinks per day (males) using the lifetime drinking history (LDH) questionnaire (Skinner & Sheu, 1982). Early‐onset adolescent binge drinkers (EBD) consisted of individuals who reported any binge drinking on the LDH prior to age 15 ( n = 50; EBD = 1 + BD day <15 years of age).…”

The ventral pallidum and relapse in alcohol seeking

“…In humans, the VP is part of the limbic pallidum, which also includes the globus pallidus. Reduced globus pallidus volumes have been detected in heroin‐dependent individuals (Muller et al, 2019) and in binge drinkers (Maksimovskiy, Fortier, Milberg, & McGlinchey, 2019). Moreover, in one case study, infarcts of the globus pallidus after methadone overdose led to abstinence from opiates and alcohol use for 10 years (Moussawi, Kalivas, & Lee, 2016).…”

Effects of current alcohol use on brain volume among older adults in the Gothenburg H70 Birth Cohort study 2014–16

“…In patients with alcohol use disorders (AUD) without cognitive deficits, findings are more inconsistent. Most studies have found atrophy in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) [ 5 , 13 , 23 , 28 , 37 ], but other brain regions have been implicated [ 18 , 24 , 25 , 43 ]. Moreover, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have shown reduced white matter integrity in several brain regions among patients with AUD [ 43 ].…”