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

Mon, Anderson; Durazzo, Timothy C.; Abé, Christoph; Gaździński, Stefan; Pennington, David; Schmidt, Thomas P.; Meyerhoff, Dieter J.

doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2014.09.010

Cited by 34 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 60 publications

(86 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Both alcohol dependent groups had smaller GM compared to HC, but only ADO had larger CSF. GM volume reductions have been reported in both alcohol dependent individuals (Mon et al, 2014) and polysubstance users (Liu et al, 1998). Despite both ADO and PS having decreased GM, only the ADO individuals had increased CSF compared to HC.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There was also decreased volume in the right thalamus in both ADO and PS individuals, and decreased left thalamic volume in PS individuals. Several studies have reported reductions in thalamic volume in AD individuals (Fein and Fein, 2013; Kril et al, 1997; Mon et al, 2014), and thalamic volume has been shown to negatively correlate with alcohol consumption (Kril et al, 1997). Thalamic volume reductions have been reported in individuals with alcohol dependence and comorbid psychostimulant dependence (Mon et al, 2014), however another study investigating a similar population did not find a decrease in thalamus volume (Fein and Fein, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Individuals with alcohol dependence and comorbid psychostimulant dependence had increased white matter volume and increased frontal gray matter volume compared to individuals with alcohol dependence alone (Mon et al, 2014). Both individuals with alcohol dependence alone and individuals with comorbid psychostimulant dependence had decreased parietal white matter, occipital white matter, and thalamic gray matter volume, compared to light drinking controls (Mon et al, 2014). Short-term abstinent alcohol dependent individuals had smaller subcortical volume in the nucleus accumbens, amygdala, caudate, thalamus, and hippocampus, compared to individuals with alcohol dependence and comorbid stimulant disorder (Fein and Fein, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Decreased subcortical volumes in alcohol dependent individuals: effect of polysubstance use disorder

Grodin

Momenan

2016

Addiction Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Chronic alcohol use has widespread effects on brain morphometry. Alcohol dependent individuals are often diagnosed with comorbid substance use disorders. Alterations in brain morphometry may be different in individuals that are dependent on alcohol alone and individuals dependent on alcohol and other substances. We examined subcortical brain volumes in 37 individuals with alcohol dependence only (ADO), 37 individuals with polysubstance use disorder (PS), and 37 healthy control participants (HC). Participants underwent a structural MR scan and a model-based segmentation tool was used to measure the volume of 14 subcortical regions (bilateral thalamus, caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, hippocampus, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens). Compared to HC, ADO had smaller volume in the bilateral hippocampus, right nucleus accumbens, and right thalamus. PS only had volume reductions in the bilateral thalamus compared to HC. PS had a larger right caudate compared to ADO. Subcortical volume was negatively associated with drinking measures only in the ADO group. This study confirms the association between alcohol dependence and reductions in subcortical brain volume. It also suggests that polysubstance use interacts with alcohol use to produce limited subcortical volume reduction and at least one region of subcortical volume increase. These findings indicate that additional substance use may mask damage through inflammation or may function in a protective manner, shielding subcortical regions from alcohol-induced damage.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Decreased subcortical volumes in alcohol dependent individuals: effect of polysubstance use disorder

Grodin

Momenan

2016

Addiction Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This distinction was made due to evidence showing that individuals dependent on alcohol and drugs have more severe psychopathology, 34 and differences in brain function 44 and structure 45 compared with individuals dependent on alcohol alone. Control participants with a history of heavy alcohol or drug use were also excluded due to known associated functional and structural abnormalities.…”

Section: Materials and Methods Participantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of naltrexone are influenced by childhood adversity during negative emotional processing in addiction recovery

Savulich¹,

Riccelli²,

Passamonti³

et al. 2017

European Neuropsychopharmacology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Naltrexone is an opioid receptor antagonist used in the management of alcohol dependence. Although the endogenous opioid system has been implicated in emotion regulation, the effects of mu-opioid receptor blockade on brain systems underlying negative emotional processing are not clear in addiction. Individuals meeting criteria for alcohol dependence alone (n = 18, alcohol) and in combination with cocaine and/or opioid dependence (n = 21, alcohol/drugs) and healthy individuals without a history of alcohol or drug dependence (n = 21) were recruited. Participants were alcohol and drug abstinent before entered into this double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, crossover study. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to investigate brain response while viewing aversive and neutral images relative to baseline on 50 mg of naltrexone and placebo. We found that naltrexone modulated task-related activation in the medial prefrontal cortex and functional connectivity between the anterior cingulate cortex and the hippocampus as a function of childhood adversity (for aversive versus neutral images) in all groups. Furthermore, there was a group-by-treatment-by-condition interaction in the right amygdala, which was mainly driven by a normalization of response for aversive relative to neutral images under naltrexone in the alcohol/drugs group. We conclude that early childhood adversity is one environmental factor that influences pharmacological response to naltrexone. Pharmacotherapy with naltrexone may also have some ameliorative effects on negative emotional processing in combined alcohol and drug dependence, possibly due to alterations in endogenous opioid transmission or the kappa-opioid receptor antagonist actions of naltrexone.

show abstract

Neuroanatomical correlates of aggressiveness: a case–control voxel- and surface-based morphometric study

Seidenbecher,

Schöne,

Kaufmann

et al. 2023

Brain Struct Funct

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aggression occurs across the population ranging on a symptom continuum. Most previous studies have used magnetic resonance imaging in clinical/forensic samples, which is associated with several confounding factors. The present study examined structural brain characteristics in two healthy samples differing only in their propensity for aggressive behavior. Voxel- and surface-based morphometry (SBM) analyses were performed on 29 male martial artists and 32 age-matched male controls. Martial artists had significantly increased mean gray matter volume in two frontal (left superior frontal gyrus and bilateral anterior cingulate cortex) and one parietal (bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus and precuneus) brain clusters compared to controls (whole brain: p < 0.001, cluster level: family-wise error (FWE)-corrected). SBM analyses revealed a trend for greater gyrification indices in martial artists compared to controls in the left lateral orbital frontal cortex and the left pars orbitalis (whole brain: p < 0.001, cluster level: FWE-corrected). The results indicate brain structural differences between martial artists and controls in frontal and parietal brain areas critical for emotion processing/inhibition of emotions as well as empathic processes. The present study highlights the importance of studying healthy subjects with a propensity for aggressive behavior in future structural MRI research on aggression.

show abstract

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

Cited by 34 publications

References 60 publications

Decreased subcortical volumes in alcohol dependent individuals: effect of polysubstance use disorder

Decreased subcortical volumes in alcohol dependent individuals: effect of polysubstance use disorder

Effects of naltrexone are influenced by childhood adversity during negative emotional processing in addiction recovery

Neuroanatomical correlates of aggressiveness: a case–control voxel- and surface-based morphometric study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About