Diffusion Tensor Imaging Analysis of Subcortical Gray Matter in Patients with Alcohol Dependence
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Applied Magnetic Resonance
ORIGINAL PAPER
Diffusion Tensor Imaging Analysis of Subcortical Gray Matter in Patients with Alcohol Dependence Yong‑Tae Kim1 · Jae‑Hyuk Shim1 · Siekyeong Kim3 · Hyeon‑Man Baek1,2 Received: 25 May 2020 / Revised: 17 July 2020 / Accepted: 18 September 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract To date, numerous studies have investigated the brain white matter abnormality in patients with alcohol dependence using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). DTI has been primarily utilized to evaluate white matter integrity, it is now increasingly used to investigate microstructural changes of gray matter (GM), particularly the subcortical GM. We predicted that structural alterations may not only be restricted to the white matter but also found in subcortical GM in alcohol dependent patients (ADP). Possible relationships between brain microstructure assessed by magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and brain volumes were investigated in ADP. Diffusion and volumetric analyses were performed in 21 alcohol dependent men without neurological or somatic complications and in 21 healthy men. Raw volume and DTI parameters (i.e., fractional anisotropy, and diffusivity values) of six subcortical gray matter structures (amygdala, hippocampus, caudate, pallidum, putamen, thalamus) were measured in both hemispheres. Between-group (controls versus patients) comparisons of normalized volume, DTI parameters, as well as within-group correlation analyses between structural changes and clinical variables were carried out. Our results show that DTI measurements appear more sensitive than volume measurements, but the combination of the two methods can still be useful for detecting pathological changes. Major findings are change of macrostructures in left hippocampus and bilateral putamen and thalamus. ADP group exhibited significant volume reductions and change of microstructures in caudate and hippocampus, putamen. These findings can broaden our understanding of the neuroanatomical changes underlying ADP.
* Hyeon‑Man Baek [email protected] Extended author information available on the last page of the article
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1 Introduction Neuroimaging of alcohol dependent patients (ADP) shows widespread brain tissue loss, as well as changed microstructural integrity in brains of ADP [1]. These findings suggest that chronic alcohol abuse has a deleterious effect on brain structure and function. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been used to study brain atrophy. Common findings of such studies are loss of volume in cortical gray matter (GM), white matter (WM), cerebellum and subcortical structures of alcohol dependent subjects [2]. Furthermore, several studies have reported that the degree of brain atrophy is correlated with the rate and amount of alcohol consumed over a lifetime [3, 4], as well as the degradation of neuropsychological performance [5]. Most studies were also able to demonstrate alcoholism-related structural changes, including
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