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Increased ventral striatal volume in college-aged binge drinkers

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posted on 2023-06-08, 18:01 authored by Nicholas A Howell, Yulia Worbe, Iris Lange, Roger Tait, Michael Irvine, Paula Banca, Neil Harrison, Edward T Bullmore, William D Hutchison, Valerie Voon
BACKGROUND Binge drinking is a serious public health issue associated with cognitive, physiological, and anatomical differences from healthy individuals. No studies, however, have reported subcortical grey matter differences in this population. To address this, we compared the grey matter volumes of college-age binge drinkers and healthy controls, focusing on the ventral striatum, hippocampus and amygdala. METHOD T1-weighted images of 19 binge drinkers and 19 healthy volunteers were analyzed using voxel-based morphometry. Structural data were also covaried with Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) scores. Cluster-extent threshold and small volume corrections were both used to analyze imaging data. RESULTS Binge drinkers had significantly larger ventral striatal grey matter volumes compared to controls. There were no between group differences in hippocampal or amygdalar volume. Ventral striatal, amygdalar, and hippocampal volumes were also negatively related to AUDIT scores across groups. CONCLUSIONS Our findings stand in contrast to the lower ventral striatal volume previously observed in more severe forms of alcohol use disorders, suggesting that college-age binge drinkers may represent a distinct population from those groups. These findings may instead represent early sequelae, compensatory effects of repeated binge and withdrawal, or an endophenotypic risk factor.

Funding

Medical Research Council/United Kingdom

Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

PLoS ONE

ISSN

1932-6203

Publisher

Public Library of Science

Issue

9

Volume

8

Article number

e74164

Department affiliated with

  • BSMS Neuroscience Publications

Notes

PMCID: PMC3785474

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2014-08-05

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2014-08-05

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2014-08-05

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