title: Acute effects of alcohol on brain perfusion monitored with arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging in young adults.
abstract: While a number of studies have established that moderate doses of alcohol increase brain perfusion, the time course of such an increase as a function of breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) has not yet been investigated, and studies differ about regional effects. Using arterial spin labeling (ASL) magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated (1) the time course of the perfusion increase during a 15-minute linear increase of BrAC up to 0.6 g/kg followed by a steady exposure of 100 minutes, (2) the regional distribution, (3) a potential gender effect, and (4) the temporal stability of perfusion effects. In 48 young adults who participated in the Dresden longitudinal study on alcohol effects in young adults, we observed (1) a 7% increase of global perfusion as compared with placebo and that perfusion and BrAC are tightly coupled in time, (2) that the increase reaches significance in most regions of the brain, (3) that the effect is stronger in women than in men, and (4) that an acute tolerance effect is not observable on the time scale of 2 hours. Larger studies are needed to investigate the origin and the consequences of the effect, as well as the correlates of inter-subject variations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marxen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gan
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schwarz
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mennigen
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Maximilian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pilhatsch
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Ulrich S
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.affiliation: 1] Mediri GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany [2] Fraunhofer MEVIS, Bremen, Germany [3] Department of Physics and Electrical Engineering, Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guenther
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Smolka
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D001944:Breath Tests; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D016014:Linear Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013113:Spin Labels; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D013113:Spin Labels; D000431:Ethanol