title: Aerobic exercise moderates the effect of heavy alcohol consumption on white matter damage.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chronic alcohol abuse is related to numerous deleterious neurobiological consequences, including loss of gray matter, damage to white matter (WM), and impairment of cognitive and motor functions. Aerobic exercise has been demonstrated to slow cognitive decline and decrease the negative neural changes resulting from normal aging and from several diseases. It is possible that exercise may also prevent or repair alcohol-related neurological damage. This study tested the hypothesis that aerobic exercise protects WM in anterior and dorsal areas of the brain from damage related to heavy alcohol use.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty individuals underwent a diffusion tensor imaging session and completed measures of alcohol consumption, loss of control over drinking, and aerobic exercise participation. Analyses examined the relationship of exercise, alcohol, and their interaction to fractional anisotropy (FA) in the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), external capsule (EC), superior and anterior corona radiata, and fornix. The relationship of aerobic exercise and alcohol consumption to self-reported loss of control over drinking were also examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A significant interaction was observed between alcohol consumption and aerobic exercise participation on FA in the SLF and EC. In the models examining loss of control over drinking, a significant interaction between aerobic exercise and alcohol consumption was observed, such that alcohol consumption was associated with loss of control more strongly for low exercisers than high exercisers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results indicate that the association between heavy alcohol consumption and WM damage in the EC and SLF and the association between alcohol consumption and loss of control over drinking are greater among individuals who do not exercise regularly. These results are consistent with the notion that exercise may protect WM integrity from alcohol-related damage.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado.
authors.forename: Hollis C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Karoly
authors.forename: Courtney J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: Rachel E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Thayer
authors.forename: Renee E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Magnan
authors.forename: Angela D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Bryan
authors.forename: Kent E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Hutchison
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009413:Nerve Fibers, Myelinated / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Aerobic Exercise; Alcohol; Neuroimaging; White Matter
references.citation: Addiction. 1993 Jun;88(6):791-804
references.pmid: 8329970
references.citation: Brain Res. 2010 Jun 23;1341:41-51
references.pmid: 19560443
references.citation: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2009 Nov;207(1):163-72
references.pmid: 19727677
references.citation: J Stud Alcohol. 1993 Nov;54(6):700-9
references.pmid: 8271806
references.citation: Addict Biol. 2013 May;18(3):581-92
references.pmid: 22458455
references.citation: Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2009 Nov-Dec;31(6):349-55
references.pmid: 19631736
references.citation: J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2006 Nov;61(11):1166-70
references.pmid: 17167157
references.citation: J Am Coll Cardiol. 2007 Sep 11;50(11):1009-14
references.pmid: 17825708
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2006 Jul 15;31(4):1487-505
references.pmid: 16624579
references.citation: Neurobiol Aging. 2005 Aug-Sep;26(8):1215-27
references.pmid: 15917106
references.citation: Br J Health Psychol. 2006 Nov;11(Pt 4):717-33
references.pmid: 17032494
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 2009 Apr 15;65(8):680-90
references.pmid: 19103436
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2000 Aug;24(8):1214-21
references.pmid: 10968660
references.citation: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2005 Feb;30(2):423-32
references.pmid: 15562292
references.citation: Alcohol Res Health. 2003;27(2):146-52
references.pmid: 15303625
references.citation: Behav Modif. 2009 Mar;33(2):220-49
references.pmid: 19091721
references.citation: Psychiatry Res. 2009 Sep 30;173(3):228-37
references.pmid: 19699064
references.citation: Neurology. 2008 Jul 15;71(3):210-6
references.pmid: 18625967
references.citation: Behav Res Ther. 1979;17(2):157-60
references.pmid: 426744
references.citation: Alcohol Res Health. 2003;27(2):125-33
references.pmid: 15303622
references.citation: Acta Neurol Scand. 2002 Apr;105(4):276-81
references.pmid: 11939939
references.citation: Am J Health Promot. 2009 Sep-Oct;24(1):2-10
references.pmid: 19750956
references.citation: Hum Brain Mapp. 2013 Nov;34(11):2972-85
references.pmid: 22674729
references.citation: Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2013 Mar;39(2):115-20
references.pmid: 22992050
references.citation: Addiction. 2004 Dec;99(12):1542-7
references.pmid: 15585045
references.citation: Clin Sports Med. 2005 Apr;24(2):355-65, xi
references.pmid: 15892929
references.citation: Magn Reson Med. 2000 Aug;44(2):259-68
references.pmid: 10918325
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2009 Jul;33(7):1278-85
references.pmid: 19389185
references.citation: Eur Addict Res. 2001 Aug;7(3):117-27
references.pmid: 11509842
references.citation: Addict Behav. 2010 Dec;35(12):1138-43
references.pmid: 20822852
references.citation: Soc Sci Med. 2005 Jan;60(2):433-7
references.pmid: 15522497
references.citation: Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 2009 Jul-Sep;23(3):188-97
references.pmid: 19812458
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2007 Jul 1;36(3):630-44
references.pmid: 17481925
references.citation: Front Neuroinform. 2011 Dec 23;5:33
references.pmid: 22275896
references.citation: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1992 Dec 26;673:260-9
references.pmid: 1485724
references.citation: Am J Health Behav. 2002 Mar-Apr;26(2):83-94
references.pmid: 11926678
references.citation: Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2012 Jan;44(1 Suppl 1):S68-76
references.pmid: 22157777
references.citation: Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2007 Feb;1097:171-4
references.pmid: 17413020