title: Impact of family history of alcoholism on glutamine/glutamate ratio in anterior cingulate cortex in substance-naïve adolescents.
abstract: Neuroimaging studies of individuals with family histories of alcoholism provide evidence suggesting neurobiological risk factors for alcoholism. Youth family history positive (FH+) for alcoholism exhibit increased impulsivity compared to family history negative (FH-) peers in conjunction with altered functional activation in prefrontal cortex, including anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). This study examined glutamate (Glu) and glutamine (Gln), amino acids vital to protein synthesis, cellular metabolism and neurotransmission, acquired from ACC and parieto-occipital cortex (POC) using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) at 4T. Participants were 28 adolescents (13 male, 12-14 yrs) and 31 emerging adults (16 male, 18-25 yrs), stratified into FH- and FH+ groups. Significantly higher ACC Gln/Glu was observed in emerging adults versus adolescents in FH- but not FH+ groups. In FH- adolescents, higher impulsivity was significantly associated with higher ACC Gln/Glu. In FH+ emerging adults, higher impulsivity was negatively associated with ACC Gln/Glu. No differences or associations were observed for POC. These findings provide preliminary evidence that family history of alcoholism is associated with a neurochemical profile that may influence normative age differences in glutamatergic metabolites and their association with impulse control, which together could confer greater genetic risk of addiction later in life.
authors.affiliation: McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Mail Stop 204, Belmont, MA 02478, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 401 Park Drive, 2-West, Boston, MA 02215, USA. Electronic address: jcohen@mclean.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Julia E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Cohen-Gilbert
authors.affiliation: McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Mail Stop 204, Belmont, MA 02478, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 401 Park Drive, 2-West, Boston, MA 02215, USA. Electronic address: jtsneider@mclean.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Jennifer T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Sneider
authors.affiliation: McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Mail Stop 204, Belmont, MA 02478, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 401 Park Drive, 2-West, Boston, MA 02215, USA. Electronic address: djcrowley@mclean.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: David J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Crowley
authors.affiliation: McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Mail Stop 204, Belmont, MA 02478, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 401 Park Drive, 2-West, Boston, MA 02215, USA. Electronic address: irosso@hms.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Isabelle M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Rosso
authors.affiliation: McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Mail Stop 204, Belmont, MA 02478, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 401 Park Drive, 2-West, Boston, MA 02215, USA. Electronic address: ejensen@mclean.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: J Eric
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Jensen
authors.affiliation: McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill Street, Mail Stop 204, Belmont, MA 02478, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 401 Park Drive, 2-West, Boston, MA 02215, USA. Electronic address: msilveri@mclean.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Marisa M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Silveri
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000375:Aging; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D005973:Glutamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009682:Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; D008297:Male; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005973:Glutamine; D018698:Glutamic Acid
keywords: Adolescence; Alcoholism; Family history; Glutamate; Impulsivity; MRS