Gender-related neuroanatomical differences in alcohol dependence: findings from the ENIGMA Addiction Working Group

Rossetti, Maria Gloria; Patalay, Praveetha; Mackey, Scott; Allen, Nicholas; Batalla, Albert; Chye, Yann; Cousijn, Janna; Goudriaan, Anna E.; Hester, Robert; Hutchison, Kent E.; Li, Chiang‐Shan R.; Martín‐Santos, Rocío; Momenan, Reza; Sinha, Rajita; Schmaal, Lianne; Sjoerds, Zsuzsika; Solowij, Nadia; Suo, Chao; Holst, Ruth J. van; Veltman, Dick J.; Yücel, Murat; Thompson, Paul M.; Conrod, Patricia J.; Garavan, Hugh; Brambilla, Paolo; Lorenzetti, Valentina

doi:10.1016/j.nicl.2021.102636

Cited by 25 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 76 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Among substances of abuse, alcohol is most prominently used in females ( 3 , 11 ). In general, alcohol dependence has been associated with changes in brain volume in reward circuitry including the cortex, insula, and hippocampus ( 9 , 12 ).…”

Section: Alcoholmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex Differences in Substance Use Disorders: A Neurobiological Perspective

Cornish

Prasad

2021

Front. Glob. Womens Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Clinical studies provide fundamental knowledge of substance use behaviors (substance of abuse, patterns of use, relapse rates). The combination of neuroimaging approaches reveal correlation between substance use disorder (SUD) and changes in neural structure, function, and neurotransmission. Here, we review these advances, placing special emphasis on sex specific findings from structural neuroimaging studies of those dependent on alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, psychostimulants, or opioids. Recent clinical studies in SUD analyzing sex differences reveal neurobiological changes that are differentially impacted in common reward processing regions such as the striatum, hippocampus, amygdala, insula, and corpus collosum. We reflect on the contribution of sex hormones, period of drug use and abstinence, and the potential impact of these factors on the interpretation of the reported findings. With the overall recognition that SUD impacts the brains of females and males differentially, it is of fundamental importance that future research is designed with sex as a variable of study in this field. Improved understanding of neurobiological changes in males and females in SUD will advance knowledge underlying sex-specific susceptibility and the neurobiological impact in these disorders. Together these findings will inform future treatments that are tailor designed for improved efficacy in females and males with SUD.

show abstract

Section: Alcoholmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex Differences in Substance Use Disorders: A Neurobiological Perspective

Cornish

Prasad

2021

Front. Glob. Womens Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Surprisingly, alcohol use alone versus non‐use did not demonstrate significant differences in volumetric decline. This finding appears at odds with a vast literature demonstrating volumetric deficits from heavy drinking both in adults 28,29,40–42 and adolescents [see 8 for a review]. For instance, prior work indicates smaller GMVs in brain regions, including the hippocampus, 43 and left frontal, temporal, and parietal cortices 44 in adolescents engaged in problem alcohol use.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One study found that, although young adult females smoked less cannabis while drinking, they experienced the same acute pharmacological and subjective effects as males 27 . Men and women with AUD showed different patterns of gray and white matter volumetric reduction 28 ; for instance, only males showed reduced amygdala size compared to controls 29 . Moreover, early initiation of cannabis use potentially resulted in more spatial working memory deficits in females than in male adolescents 30 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alcohol and cannabis co‐use and longitudinal gray matter volumetric changes in early and late adolescence

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Previous studies have characterized the impact of substance use on cerebral structure and function in adolescents. Yet, the great majority of prior studies employed a small sample, presented cross‐sectional findings, and omitted potential sex differences. Methods Using data based on 724 adolescents (370 females) curated from the NCANDA study, we investigated how gray matter volumes (GMVs) decline longitudinally as a result of alcohol and cannabis use. The impacts of alcohol and cannabis co‐use and how these vary across assigned sex at birth and age were examined. Brain imaging data comprised the GMVs of 34 regions of interest and the results were evaluated with a Bonferroni correction. Results Mixed‐effects modeling showed faster volumetric declines in the caudal middle frontal cortex, fusiform, inferior frontal, superior temporal (STG), and supramarginal (SMG) gyri, at −0.046 to −0.138 cm3/year in individuals with prior‐year alcohol and cannabis co‐use, but not those engaged in alcohol or cannabis use only. These findings cannot be explained by more severe alcohol use among co‐users. Further, alcohol and cannabis co‐use in early versus late adolescence predicted faster volumetric decline in the STG and SMG across assigned sex at birth. Conclusions Findings highlight the longitudinal impact of alcohol and cannabis co‐use on brain development, especially among youth reporting early adolescent onset of use. The volumetric decline was noted in cortical regions in support of attention, memory, executive control, and social cognition, suggesting the pervasive effect of alcohol and cannabis co‐use on brain development.

show abstract

“…Considering that dopaminergic imbalance in the brain can be one of the determinants of high alcohol motivation [ 19 , 20 ], and synucleins may be critically involved in regulation of dopaminergic neurons [ 8 ] here we studied alterations in synucleins mRNA level in specific brain areas of adult male and female rats affected by prenatal alcohol exposure. It was of particular importance to focus on the sex-dependent alterations in gene expression which might provide more insight into the problem of sex differences in response to alcohol intake both in humans [ 21 , 22 ] and animal models of alcoholism [ 23 , 24 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex-Related Differences in Voluntary Alcohol Intake and mRNA Coding for Synucleins in the Brain of Adult Rats Prenatally Exposed to Alcohol

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Maternal alcohol consumption is one of the strong predictive factors of alcohol use and consequent abuse; however, investigations of sex differences in response to prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) are limited. Here we compared the effects of PAE throughout gestation on alcohol preference, state anxiety and mRNA expression of presynaptic proteins α-, β- and γ-synucleins in the brain of adult (PND60) male and female Wistar rats. Total RNA was isolated from the hippocampus, midbrain and hypothalamus and mRNA levels were assessed with quantitative RT-PCR. Compared with naïve males, naïve female rats consumed more alcohol in “free choice” paradigm (10% ethanol vs. water). At the same time, PAE produced significant increase in alcohol consumption and preference in males but not in females compared to male and female naïve groups, correspondingly. We found significantly lower α-synuclein mRNA levels in the hippocampus and midbrain of females compared to males and significant decrease in α-synuclein mRNA in these brain areas in PAE males, but not in females compared to the same sex controls. These findings indicate that the impact of PAE on transcriptional regulation of synucleins may be sex-dependent, and in males’ disruption in α-synuclein mRNA expression may contribute to increased vulnerability to alcohol-associated behavior.

show abstract

Gender-related neuroanatomical differences in alcohol dependence: findings from the ENIGMA Addiction Working Group

Cited by 25 publications

References 76 publications

Sex Differences in Substance Use Disorders: A Neurobiological Perspective

Sex Differences in Substance Use Disorders: A Neurobiological Perspective

Alcohol and cannabis co‐use and longitudinal gray matter volumetric changes in early and late adolescence

Sex-Related Differences in Voluntary Alcohol Intake and mRNA Coding for Synucleins in the Brain of Adult Rats Prenatally Exposed to Alcohol

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About