Differential activation of face memory encoding tasks in alcohol-dependent patients compared to healthy subjects: an fMRI study.
It has been hypothesized that the right hemisphere of the brain is more sensitive to alcohol-related damage than the left hemisphere. The present study tested this hypothesis, using functional MRI to determine whether the pattern for right hemispheric activity is different for alcohol-dependent patients, compared to normal healthy individuals. Two different types of memory encoding tasks were performed separately: word and face encoding for both alcohol-dependent patients and normal healthy volunteers. The data for the normal volunteers indicate that the left prefrontal region is more active during word encoding, whereas the right parahippocampal region is more active during face encoding. The results for the patient data, however, demonstrated left lateralization in the prefrontal area during word encoding, while right lateralization in the parahippocampal region during face encoding was not observed. Therefore, alcoholism appears to have no influence on left hemispheric activity, since the activation pattern was similar to that observed for normal healthy persons. However, the absence of right hemispheric lateralization in alcohol-dependent patients is consistent with the hypothesis that the right hemisphere is more vulnerable to alcohol-related damage than the left hemisphere.
Yoon
Hyo Woon
HW
Neuroscience Research Institute, Gachon University of Medicine and Science, 1198 Kuwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
Chung
Jun-Young
JY
Oh
Jin-Hwan
JH
Min
Hoon-Ki
HK
Kim
Dai-Jin
DJ
Cheon
Younghoon
Y
Joe
Keun Ho
KH
Kim
Young-Bo
YB
Cho
Zang-Hee
ZH
D000328:Adult; D020268:Alcohol-Induced Disorders, Nervous System / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000009:adverse effects; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects; D005145:Face; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D020534:Parahippocampal Gyrus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol