Tapert S F, Brown G G, Kindermann S S, Cheung E H, Frank L R, Brown S A
VA San Diego Healthcare System and the University of California at San Diego, 92161, USA.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2001 Feb;25(2):236-45.
Studies of brain functioning in alcohol-dependent adults have produced varied results but generally suggest that alcohol affects brain functioning and that relatively short durations of heavy drinking may adversely affect women. It remains unclear when in the course of alcohol dependency and at which developmental stage these brain changes emerge. Our neuropsychological studies have indicated that drinking-related neurocognitive effects occur as early as adolescence (Brown et al., 2000; Tapert & Brown, 1999). This study seeks to characterize brain regions that subserve the affected neurocognitive functions.
Alcohol-dependent young women (n = 10) were recruited from a longitudinal study of alcohol- and drug-abusing youth, all of whom met criteria for alcohol dependence. Control participants (n = 10) had no history of alcohol or drug problems and were comparable with alcohol-dependent participants on age (18-25 years), family history of alcohol use disorders, and education. After a minimum of 72 hr of abstinence, functional magnetic resonance imaging, neuropsychological, alcohol/drug involvement, and mood data were collected. Participants performed spatial working memory and vigilance tasks during functional magnetic resonance imaging acquisition to probe brain response.
Alcohol-dependent women demonstrated significantly less blood oxygen level-dependent response than controls during the spatial working memory task in the right superior and inferior parietal, right middle frontal, right postcentral, and left superior frontal cortex, after controlling for the baseline vigilance response.
Working memory produces a larger neuronal response in some cortical regions than vigilance. Alcohol-dependent women showed less differential response to working memory than controls in frontal and parietal regions, especially in the right hemisphere. Heavy, chronic drinking appears to produce adverse neural effects that are detectable by functional magnetic resonance imaging.
对酒精依赖成年人脑功能的研究结果各异，但总体表明酒精会影响脑功能，且相对较短时间的大量饮酒可能对女性产生不利影响。目前尚不清楚在酒精依赖过程中的何时以及在哪个发育阶段会出现这些脑变化。我们的神经心理学研究表明，与饮酒相关的神经认知效应早在青春期就会出现（Brown等人，2000年；Tapert和Brown，1999年）。本研究旨在确定支持受影响神经认知功能的脑区。
从一项针对酗酒和吸毒青少年的纵向研究中招募了酒精依赖的年轻女性（n = 10），她们均符合酒精依赖标准。对照参与者（n = 10）无酒精或药物问题史，在年龄（18 - 25岁）、酒精使用障碍家族史和教育程度方面与酒精依赖参与者相当。在至少72小时戒酒之后，收集功能磁共振成像、神经心理学、酒精/药物使用情况及情绪数据。参与者在功能磁共振成像采集过程中执行空间工作记忆和警觉任务，以探究脑反应。
在控制基线警觉反应后，酒精依赖女性在右侧顶叶上下部、右侧额中回、右侧中央后回和左侧额上回的空间工作记忆任务中，血氧水平依赖反应显著低于对照组。
工作记忆在某些皮质区域比警觉产生更大的神经元反应。酒精依赖女性在额叶和顶叶区域，尤其是在右侧半球，对工作记忆的差异反应比对照组少。长期大量饮酒似乎会产生可通过功能磁共振成像检测到的不良神经影响。
