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Gender-related neuroanatomical differences in alcohol dependence : Findings from the ENIGMA Addiction Working Group
Rossetti, Maria Gloria Patalay, Praveetha Mackey, Scott Allen, Nicholas B. Batalla, Albert Bellani, Marcella Chye, Yann Cousijn, Janna Goudriaan, Anna E. Hester, Robert
Rossetti, Maria Gloria
Patalay, Praveetha
Mackey, Scott
Allen, Nicholas B.
Batalla, Albert
Bellani, Marcella
Chye, Yann
Cousijn, Janna
Goudriaan, Anna E.
Hester, Robert
Author
Rossetti, Maria Gloria
Patalay, Praveetha
Mackey, Scott
Allen, Nicholas B.
Batalla, Albert
Bellani, Marcella
Chye, Yann
Cousijn, Janna
Goudriaan, Anna E.
Hester, Robert
Hutchison, Kent
Li, Chiang-Shan R.
Martin-Santos, Rocio
Momenan, Reza
Sinha, Rajita
Schmaal, Lianne
Sjoerds, Zsuzsika
Solowij, Nadia
Suo, Chao
van Holst, Ruth J.
Veltman, Dick J.
Yücel, Murat
Thompson, Paul M.
Conrod, Patricia
Garavan, Hugh
Brambilla, Paolo
Lorenzetti, Valentina
Patalay, Praveetha
Mackey, Scott
Allen, Nicholas B.
Batalla, Albert
Bellani, Marcella
Chye, Yann
Cousijn, Janna
Goudriaan, Anna E.
Hester, Robert
Hutchison, Kent
Li, Chiang-Shan R.
Martin-Santos, Rocio
Momenan, Reza
Sinha, Rajita
Schmaal, Lianne
Sjoerds, Zsuzsika
Solowij, Nadia
Suo, Chao
van Holst, Ruth J.
Veltman, Dick J.
Yücel, Murat
Thompson, Paul M.
Conrod, Patricia
Garavan, Hugh
Brambilla, Paolo
Lorenzetti, Valentina
Abstract
Gender-related differences in the susceptibility, progression and clinical outcomes of alcohol dependence are well-known. However, the neurobiological substrates underlying such differences remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate gender differences in the neuroanatomy (i.e. regional brain volumes) of alcohol dependence. We examined the volume of a priori regions of interest (i.e., orbitofrontal cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, nucleus accumbens, caudate, putamen, pallidum, thalamus, corpus callosum, cerebellum) and global brain measures (i.e., total grey matter (GM), total white matter (WM) and cerebrospinal fluid). Volumes were compared between 660 people with alcohol dependence (228 women) and 326 controls (99 women) recruited from the ENIGMA Addiction Working Group, accounting for intracranial volume, age and education years. Compared to controls, individuals with alcohol dependence on average had (3–9%) smaller volumes of the hippocampus (bilateral), putamen (left), pallidum (left), thalamus (right), corpus callosum, total GM and WM, and cerebellar GM (bilateral), the latter more prominently in women (right). Alcohol-dependent men showed smaller amygdala volume than control men, but this effect was unclear among women. In people with alcohol dependence, more monthly standard drinks predicted smaller amygdala and larger cerebellum GM volumes. The neuroanatomical differences associated with alcohol dependence emerged as gross and widespread, while those associated with a specific gender may be confined to selected brain regions. These findings warrant future neuroscience research to account for gender differences in alcohol dependence to further understand the neurobiological effects of alcohol dependence.
Keywords
alcohol, sex, alcohol dependence, gender differences, neuroimaging, MRI
Date
2021
Type
Journal article
Journal
NeuroImage: Clinical
Book
Volume
30
Issue
Page Range
1-12
Article Number
Article 102636
ACU Department
School of Behavioural and Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Faculty of Health Sciences
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
Published as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
License
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
File Access
Open