Binge drinking differentially affects adolescent male and female brain morphometry

Abstract

Rationale Adolescent binge drinking is concerning, as important neurodevelopments occur during this stage. Previous research suggests that binge drinking may disrupt typical brain development, and females may be particularly vulnerable. Objectives We used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to examine cortical thickness in adolescent females and males with and without histories of binge drinking. Methods Participants (N=59) were 16-19-year-old adolescents recruited from local schools. Recent binge drinkers (n= 29, 48% female) were matched to non-drinkers (n=30, 50% female) on age, gender, pubertal development, and familial alcoholism. Participants completed a neuropsychological battery and MRI session. Cortical surfaces were reconstructed with FreeSurfer. Results Binge × gender interactions (p <0.05) and worse attention for male bingers (r= -0.69, p=0.005). Conclusions Adolescent females with recent binge drinking showed ∼8% thicker cortices in left frontal regions than demographically similar female non-drinkers, which was linked to worse visuospatial, inhibition, and attention performances. In contrast, adolescent binge-drinking males showed ∼7% thinner cortices in these areas than non-drinking males. These cross-sectional data suggest either different gray matter risk factors for males as for females toward developing heavy drinking, or differential adverse sequelae. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.