Associations between alcohol use and sex-specific maturation of subcortical gray matter morphometry from adolescence to adulthood: Replication across two longitudinal samples

Year: 2023

Type: article

Abstract: Subcortical brain morphometry matures across adolescence and young adulthood, a time when many youth engage in escalating levels of alcohol use. Initial cross-sectional studies have shown alcohol use is associated with altered subcortical morphometry. However, longitudinal evidence of sex-specific neuromaturation and associations with alcohol use remains limited. This project used generalized additive mixed models to examine sex-specific development of subcortical volumes and associations with recent alcohol use, using 7 longitudinal waves (n = 804, 51% female, ages 12-21 at baseline) from the National Consortium on Alcohol and Neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA). A second, independent, longitudinal dataset, with up to four waves of data (n = 467, 43% female, ages 10-18 at baseline), was used to assess replicability. Significant, replicable non-linear normative volumetric changes with age were evident in the caudate, putamen, thalamus, pallidum, amygdala and hippocampus. Significant, replicable negative associations between subcortical volume and alcohol use were found in the hippocampus in all youth, and the caudate and thalamus in female but not male youth, with significant interactions present in the caudate, thalamus and putamen. Findings suggest a structural vulnerability to alcohol use, or a predisposition to drink alcohol based on brain structure, with female youth potentially showing heightened risk, compared to male youth.

Source: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience

DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101294

Authors: Scott A. Jones, Angelica M. Morales, Gareth Harman, Kalene A. Dominguez-Savage, Sydney Gilbert, Fiona C. Baker, Massimiliano de Zambotti, David B. Goldston, Kate B. Nooner, Duncan B. Clark, Beatriz Luna, Wesley K. Thompson, Sandra A. Brown, Susan F. Tapert, Bonnie J. Nagel

Institutions: Oregon Health & Science University, SRI International, Duke University, Duke Medical Center, University of North Carolina Wilmington, University of Pittsburgh, University of California San Diego

Language: English

Topic: Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

Subfield: Epidemiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,280

Funders: Oregon Health and Science University, University of Pittsburgh, National Institutes of Health, University of California, San Diego, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences

OpenAlex ID: W4386400671