title: Alcoholism and sexual dimorphism in the middle longitudinal fascicle: a pilot study.
abstract: Alcoholism can lead to a complex mixture of cognitive and emotional deficits associated with abnormalities in fronto-cortico-striatal-limbic brain circuitries. Given the broad variety of neurobehavioral symptoms, one would also expect alterations of postrolandic neocortical systems. Thus, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to study the integrity of the middle longitudinal fascicle (MdLF), a major postrolandic association white matter tract that extends from the superior temporal gyrus to the parietal and occipital lobes, in individuals with a history of chronic alcohol abuse. DTI data were acquired on a 3 Tesla scanner in 30 abstinent alcoholics (AL; 9 men) and 25 nonalcoholic controls (NC; 8 men). The MdLF was determined using DTI-based tractography. Volume of the tract, fractional anisotropy (FA), radial (RD), and axial (AD) diffusivity, were compared between AL and NC, with sex and hemispheric laterality as independent variables. The association of DTI measures with neuropsychological performance was evaluated. Men showed bilateral reduction of MdLF volume and abnormal diffusion measurements of the left MdLF. Analyses also indicated that the left MdLF diffusion measurements in AL men were negatively associated with Verbal IQ and verbal fluency test scores. Abstinent alcoholic men display macrostructural abnormalities in the MdLF bilaterally, indicating an overall white matter deficit. Additionally, microstructural deficits of the left MdLF suggest more specific alterations associated with verbal skills in men.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Seitz
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Neuroscience and Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.|VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.|Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology and Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Kayle S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Sawyer
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology and Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Papadimitriou
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Neuroscience and Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.|VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.|Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology and Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Marlene
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Oscar-Berman
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology and Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Isaac
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology and Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kubicki
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology and Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Palig
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mouradian
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Neuroscience and Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.|VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA.|Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology and Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Ruiz
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kubicki
authors.affiliation: Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology and Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.|Radiology Computer Aided Diagnostics Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Gordon J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.affiliation: Psychiatry Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. nikos@cma.mgh.harvard.edu.|Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology and Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 149 13th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA. nikos@cma.mgh.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Nikos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Makris
mesh_terms: D000437:Alcoholism / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009929:Organ Size; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D066127:White Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology
keywords: Addiction; Alcohol dependence; DTI; Diffusion imaging tractography; Middle longitudinal fascicle/middle longitudinal fasciculus; Sexual dimorphism