Serial longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging data indicate non‐linear regional gray matter volume recovery in abstinent alcohol‐dependent individuals

Abstract

The trajectory of regional volume changes during the first year of sustained abstinence in those recovering from an alcohol use disorder is unclear because previous research typically employed only two assessment points. To better understand the trajectory of regional brain volume recovery in treatment-seeking alcohol dependent individuals (ALC), regional brain volumes were measured after 1-week, 1-month, and 7.5-months of sustained abstinence, via magnetic resonance imaging at 1.5 Tesla. ALC showed significant volume increases in frontal, parietal, and occipital gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM), total cortical GM and total lobar WM, thalamus and cerebellum, and decreased ventricular volume over 7.5-months of abstinence. Volume increases in regional GM were significantly greater over 1-week to 1-month than from 1-month to 7.5-months of abstinence, indicating a non-linear rate of change in regional GM over 7.5-months. Overall, regional lobar WM showed linear volume increases over 7.5-months. With increasing age, smoking ALC showed lower frontal and total cortical GM volume recovery than non-smoking ALC. Despite significant volume increases, ALC showed smaller GM volumes in all regions, except the frontal cortex, than controls after 7.5-months of abstinence. ALC and controls showed no regional WM volume differences at any assessment point. In non-smoking ALC only, increasing regional GM and WM volumes were related to improving processing speed. Findings may indicate a differential rate of recovery of cell types/cellular components contributing to GM and WM volume during early abstinence, and that GM volume deficits persist after 7.5-months of sustained sobriety in this ALC cohort.

Effects of Cigarette Smoking History on Neurocognitive Recovery Over 8 Months of Abstinence in Alcohol‐Dependent Individuals

“…Factors contributing to the consistently higher level of clinical impairment on visuospatial learning and memory in ALC at AP2 and AP3 were not likely related to deficient basic or complex visuospatial processing, given most participants in this ALC cohort previously showed a low frequency of impairment on measures of visuospatial integration/synthesis and visuospatial problem-solving at 1-month of abstinence (Durazzo et al, 2013). We recently observed in the non-smoking ALC from this cohort that increasing regional gray and white matter volumes over approximately 8 months of sustained abstinence were associated with improving performance on processing speed and visuospatial learning and memory measures over the same time period; however, these structure-function relationships were not apparent in actively-smoking ALC (Durazzo et al, in press). Further assessment of the correspondence between changes in markers of neuronal integrity, perfusion, and white matter microstructure, and changes in visuospatial learning and memory during sustained abstinence may provide insights into the biological basis for the greater level of deficits in visuospatial learning and memory observed in ALC across APs.…”

Psychiatric, Demographic, and Brain Morphological Predictors of Relapse After Treatment for an Alcohol Use Disorder

“…Resumption of hazardous alcohol consumption levels within 6 months of treatment is associated with extended periods of relapse and clinically significant impairments of psychosocial functioning (e.g., unemployment, relationship/marital discord, legal entanglements) over the ensuing 1–3 years (Durazzo et al, 2008, Maisto et al, 2006, Maisto et al, 2007). Conversely, sustained abstinence during the first 6–12 months following treatment is related to significant neurobiological and neurocognitive recovery and adaptive psychosocial functioning (Maisto et al, 2006, Durazzo et al, 2015, Durazzo et al, 2014, Durazzo et al, 2008). …”

Structural brain differences in alcohol-dependent individuals with and without comorbid substance dependence

“…The functional relevance of our MRI measures was assessed by correlating them with neurocognitive measures. Since ALC recover brain tissue volume significantly but not completely within their first month of sobriety (Durazzo et al, 2014; Gazdzinski et al, 2005; Pfefferbaum et al, 1995; Trabert et al, 1995; van Eijk et al 2013), while individuals with PSUD show regional GM tissue volume deficits even after many weeks and years of abstinence (Liu et al, 1998; Tanabe et al, 2009), we tested the following hypotheses in treatment-seeking individuals after one month of abstinence from alcohol and other substances: PSU have smaller lobar GM, WM and subcortical tissue volumes as well as larger CSF volumes than light-drinking controls (LD) and ALC.In PSU and in ALC, smaller lobar GM and WM volumes correlate with worse measures of working memory, processing speed, visual-spatial learning and memory and auditory-verbal learning and general intelligence.…”