Increased Nucleus Accumbens Volume in College Binge Drinkers - Preliminary Evidence From Manually Segmented MRI Analysis

Frontiers in Psychiatry

Óscar F. Gonçalves¹  Sónia S. Sousa²  Adriana Sampaio²  Clothilde Bec²  Eduardo López-Caneda²  Alberto Crego² 

[1] Department of Applied Psychology, Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States;Psychological Neuroscience Lab, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal;Spaulding Neuromodulation Center, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States;

关键词: alcohol;    binge drinking;    college students;    nucleus accumbens;    nucleus caudate;    striatum;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyt.2019.01005

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionBinge drinking (BD) is characterized by high alcohol intake in a short time followed by periods of withdrawal. This pattern is very common during adolescence and early adulthood, a developmental stage marked by the maturation of the fronto-striatal networks. The basal ganglia, specifically the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and the caudate nucleus (CN), are part of the fronto-striatal limbic circuit involved in reward processes underlying addictive behaviors. Abnormal NAcc and CN morphometry has been noted in alcoholics and other drug abusers, however the effects of BD on these subcortical regions have been poorly explored. Accordingly, the main goal of the present study was to address potential morphological alterations in the NAcc and CN in a sample of college binge drinkers (BDs).MethodManual segmentation of the NAcc and the CN was performed in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of 20 college BDs and 16 age-matched alcohol abstainers (18–23 years-old).ResultsA two-way mixed ANOVA revealed no group differences in the volumetry of the CN, whereas increased NAcc volume was observed in the BD group when compared to their abstinent control peers.DiscussionThese findings are in line with previous automatically segmented MRI reports highlighting abnormalities in a key region involved in drug rewarding processes in BDs.

【 授权许可】

Unknown