title: Brain volume reductions in adolescent heavy drinkers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Brain abnormalities in adolescent heavy drinkers may result from alcohol exposure, or stem from pre-existing neural features.
  
  
  METHODS
  This longitudinal morphometric study investigated 40 healthy adolescents, ages 12-17 at study entry, half of whom (n=20) initiated heavy drinking over the 3-year follow-up. Both assessments included high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging. FreeSurfer was used to segment brain volumes, which were measured longitudinally using the newly developed quantitative anatomic regional change analysis (QUARC) tool.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At baseline, participants who later transitioned into heavy drinking showed smaller left cingulate, pars triangularis, and rostral anterior cingulate volume, and less right cerebellar white matter volumes (p<.05), compared to continuous non-using teens. Over time, participants who initiated heavy drinking showed significantly greater volume reduction in the left ventral diencephalon, left inferior and middle temporal gyrus, and left caudate and brain stem, compared to substance-naïve youth (p<.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings suggest pre-existing volume differences in frontal brain regions in future drinkers and greater brain volume reduction in subcortical and temporal regions after alcohol use was initiated. This is consistent with literature showing pre-existing cognitive deficits on tasks recruited by frontal regions, as well as post-drinking consequences on brain regions involved in language and spatial tasks.
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Diego, Department of Psychiatry, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Lindsay M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Squeglia
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, Imaging Genetics Center, Institute for Neuroimaging and Informatics, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Rinker
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Diego, Department of Psychiatry, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Hauke
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bartsch
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Diego, Department of Psychiatry, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Norma
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: Yale University, Department of Psychology, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Yoonho
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Diego, Department of Psychiatry, La Jolla, CA, USA; University of California, San Diego, Department of Radiology, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Anders M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Dale
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Diego, Department of Psychiatry, La Jolla, CA, USA; University of California, San Diego, Department of Radiology, La Jolla, CA, USA; University of California, San Diego, Department of Cognitive Science, La Jolla, CA, USA; University of California, San Diego, Center for Human Development, La Jolla, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Terry L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Jernigan
authors.affiliation: VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, CA, USA; University of California, San Diego, Department of Psychiatry, La Jolla, CA, USA. Electronic address: stapert@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Susan F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Tapert
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000473:pathology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000473:pathology; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology*; D002648:Child; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D066127:White Matter / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol
keywords: Adolescence; Alcohol abuse; Brain development; Magnetic resonance imaging; Neuroimaging; QUARC