title: Sexually dimorphic brain volume interaction in college-aged binge drinkers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Binge consumption of alcohol is a major societal problem associated with important cognitive, physiological and neurotoxic consequences. Converging evidence highlights the need to assess binge drinking (BD) and its effects on the developing brain while taking into account gender differences. Here, we compared the brain volumetric differences between genders in college-aged binge drinkers and healthy volunteers.
  
  
  METHODS
  T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of 30 binge drinkers (18 males) and 46 matched healthy volunteers (23 males) were examined using voxel-based morphometry. The anatomical scans were covaried with Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores. Whole brain voxel-wise group comparisons were performed using a cluster extent threshold correction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Several large clusters qualified with group-by-gender interactions were observed in prefrontal, striatal and medial temporal areas, whereby BD females had more volume than non-BD females, while males showed the inverse pattern of decreased volume in BD males and increased volume in non-BD males. AUDIT scores negatively correlated with volume in the right superior frontal cortex and precentral gyrus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings dovetail with previous studies reporting that a state effect of BD in college-aged drinkers and the severity of alcohol use are associated with volumetric alterations in the cortical and subcortical areas of the brain. Our study indicates that these widespread volumetric changes vary differentially by gender, suggesting either sexual dimorphic endophenotypic risk factors, or differential neurotoxic sensitivities for males and females.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark; Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, MINDLab, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Timo L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Kvamme
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Cognitive Neuroscience Research Unit, Department of Communication and Psychology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark; Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, MINDLab, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Casper
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Strelchuk
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Yee Chien
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Chang-Webb
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Kwangyeol
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Behavioural and Clinical Neurosciences Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; NIHR Biomedical Research Council, University of Cambridge, United kingdom.
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Voon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D063425:Binge Drinking / Q000473:pathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: AAL, Automatic Anatomical Labeling; AUDIT, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test; AUDs, alcohol-use disorders; Adolescence; Alcohol; BD, binge drinking; BDI, Beck Depression Inventory; Binge drinking; FWE, familywise error; GLM, general linear model; Gender; HV, healthy volunteer; ICBM, International Consortium for Brain Mapping; IFG, inferior frontal gyrus; MNI, Montreal Neurological Institute; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic resonance imaging; NIAAA, National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse; Neurodevelopment; PFC, prefrontal cortex; SPM, Statistical Parametric Mapping; STAI, Spielberger Trait Anxiety Inventory; SVCs, small volume corrections; Striatum; UPPS-P, UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior; Voxel-based morphometry; WBIC, Wolfson Brain Imaging Center