title: Decreased gray matter volume in inferior frontal gyrus is related to stop-signal task performance in alcohol-dependent patients.
abstract: Impairment in inhibitory control has been proposed to contribute to habitual alcohol use, abuse and eventually dependence. Moreover, alcohol-dependent (AD) patients have shown a loss of gray matter volume (GMV) in the brain, specifically in prefrontal regions associated with executive functions, including response inhibition. To date, no study has evaluated whether this prefrontal GMV reduction is related to response inhibition in alcohol dependence. To address this issue, we acquired high-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance mages from recently detoxified AD patients (n = 22) and healthy controls (HC; n = 21). Differences in local GMV between groups were assessed by means of voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Moreover, within the AD group, mean local GMV reductions were extracted and correlated with behavioral performance on the stop-signal task. We found a significantly decrease in GMV in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) in AD patients compared with HC subjects. Further, mean local GMV in this area correlated positively with reaction times on go trials during the stop-signal task in AD patients. Our findings suggest that GMV losses in the IFG in AD patients are related to faster go responses on the stop-signal task.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: corinde.wiers@nih.gov.
authors.forename: Corinde E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Wiers
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Germany.
authors.forename: Christiane K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Gawron
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Germany.
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gröpper
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Germany.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Spengler
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Germany.
authors.forename: Heiner
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stuke
authors.affiliation: Salus Klinik, Lindow, Germany.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lindenmeyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Walter
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charité Campus Mitte, Germany; Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bermpohl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Addiction; Alcohol; Gray matter volume; Inferior frontal gyrus; Response inhibition; Stop-signal task