title: Family history of alcohol dependence and gray matter abnormalities in non-alcoholic adults.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Alcohol-use disorders in adolescents are associated with gray matter (GM) abnormalities suggesting neurotoxicity by alcohol. However, recently similar GM abnormalities were found in non-drinking children with a family history (FH) of alcohol dependence (AD). The question thus rises whether these abnormalities represent a transient delay in brain maturation or a persistent risk factor for developing neuropsychiatric disorders, rather than a (neurotoxic) consequence of AD. This study investigated whether a FH of AD in non-drinking adults is associated with abnormal GM-volumes similar to those observed in drinking and non-drinking adolescents with a FH of AD.
  
  
  METHODS
  GM-images were analyzed using Voxel-Based Morphometry in non-alcoholics with (FH+; N = 36) and without (FH-; N = 107) familial AD. Additionally we controlled for possible confounders: diagnosis of depression/anxiety, childhood trauma and familial depression/anxiety.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Smaller GM-volumes were shown in the right parahippocampal gyrus in FH+ compared with FH-. Results were unaffected by confounders.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We demonstrated an effect of familial AD in non-alcoholic adults on GM volume in the parahippocampal gyrus, similar to drinking and non-drinking FH+ adolescents. These findings suggest that GM abnormalities in the parahippocampal gyrus represent a persistent biological susceptibility for AD or related psychopathology and not neurotoxicity of alcohol or delayed brain maturation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, VU University Medical Center , Amsterdam , The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Zsuzsika
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sjoerds
authors.forename: Marie-José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Van Tol
authors.forename: Wim
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Van den Brink
authors.forename: Nic J A
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Van der Wee
authors.forename: Mark A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Van Buchem
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aleman
authors.forename: Brenda W J H
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Penninx
authors.forename: Dick J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Veltman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004198:Disease Susceptibility / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D020534:Parahippocampal Gyrus / Q000473:pathology; D010375:Pedigree