Brain volume reductions in adolescent heavy drinkers

Abstract

Background Brain abnormalities in adolescent heavy drinkers may result from alcohol exposure, or stem from pre-existing neural features. Methods This longitudinal morphometric study investigated 40 healthy adolescents, ages 12-17 at study entry, half of whom (n = 20) initiated heavy drinking over the 3-year follow-up. Both assessments included high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging. FreeSurfer was used to segment brain volumes, which were measured longitudinally using the newly developed quantitative anatomic regional change analysis (QUARC) tool. Results At baseline, participants who later transitioned into heavy drinking showed smaller left cingulate, pars triangularis, and rostral anterior cingulate volume, and less right cerebellar white matter volumes (p