Abstract
Changes in brain morphometry have been extensively reported in various studies examining the effects of chronic alcohol use in alcohol-dependent patients. Such studies were able to confirm the association between chronic alcohol use and volumetric reductions in subcortical structures using FSL (FMRIB software library). However, each study that utilized FSL had different sets of subcortical structures that showed significant volumetric reduction. First, we aimed to investigate the reproducibility of using FSL to assess volumetric differences of subcortical structures between alcohol-dependent patients and control subjects. Second, we aimed to use Vertex analysis, a less utilized program, to visually inspect 3D meshes of subcortical structures and observe significant shape abnormalities that occurred in each subcortical structure. Vertex analysis results from the hippocampus and thalamus were overlaid on top of their respective subregional atlases to further pinpoint the subregional locations where shape abnormalities occurred. We analyzed the volumes of 14 subcortical structures (bilateral thalamus, caudate, putamen, globus pallidus, hippocampus, amygdala, nucleus accumbens) in 21 alcohol-dependent subjects and 21 healthy controls using images acquired with 3T MRI. The images were run through various programs found in FSL, such as SIENAX, FIRST, and Vertex analysis. We found that in alcohol-dependent patients, the bilateral thalamus (left: p < 0.01, right: p = 0.01), bilateral putamen (left: p = 0.02, right: p < 0.01), right globus pallidus (p < 0.01), bilateral hippocampus (left: p = 0.05, right: p = 0.03) and bilateral nucleus accumbens (left: p = 0.05, right: p = 0.03) were significantly reduced compared to the corresponding subcortical structures of healthy controls. With vertex analysis, we observed surface reductions of the following hippocampal subfields: Presubiculum, hippocampal tail, hippocampal molecular layer, hippocampal fissure, fimbria, and CA3. We reproduced the assessment made in previous studies that reductions in subcortical volume were negatively associated with alcohol dependence by using the FMRIB Software Library. In addition, we identified the subfields of the thalamus and hippocampus that showed volumetric reduction.
Highlights
While alcohol abuse is a prominent health concern worldwide, it is a more severe problem in South Korea, where social pressures and situations often force people to drink, especially in corporate settings
While it is unclear if such symptoms are directly related to damage caused by alcohol abuse, there have been investigations on how each subcortical structure changes under consistent exposure to alcohol
We aimed to investigate the reproducibility of using FMRIB Software Library (FSL) to find similar volumetric reductions in subcortical structures of alcohol-dependent patients [13, 14]
Summary
While alcohol abuse is a prominent health concern worldwide, it is a more severe problem in South Korea, where social pressures and situations often force people to drink, especially in corporate settings. Due to such pressures, statistics suggest that 55.3% of Korean males over the age of 19 consume dangerous amount of alcohol at least once per month (described by a bottle of soju or 5 cans of beer per sitting) and 21.2% Korean males over the age of 19 consume dangerous amounts of alcohol regularly [1, 2]. Insomnia has been linked to atrophic changes in the hippocampus and putamen [8] While it is unclear if such symptoms are directly related to damage caused by alcohol abuse, there have been investigations on how each subcortical structure changes under consistent exposure to alcohol
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
