Nakamura-Palacios Ester M, Souza Rodrigo S M, Zago-Gomes Maria P, de Melo Adriana M F, Braga Flávia S, Kubo Tadeu T A, Gasparetto Emerson L
Laboratory of Cognitive Sciences and Neuropsychopharmacology, Department of Physiological Sciences, Health Science Center, Federal University of Espírito Santo, Vitória, Brazil.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2014 Apr;38(4):1126-33. doi: 10.1111/acer.12308. Epub 2013 Nov 20.
Alcoholic subjects manifest important deficits in frontal executive function, yet maintain cognitive mental status within normal range.
This study searched for volumetric measurements of segmented brain structures obtained from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) that would predict executive functions and cognitive mental status in alcoholic subjects. The frontal assessment battery (FAB) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) were applied to alcoholic subjects who underwent MRI. Cortical and subcortical segmentation and corrections were performed using FreeSurfer. Multiple linear regressions analyses having volumetric measures of segmented brain structures as predictors for FAB or MMSE scores as dependent measures were conducted. Sixty alcoholic subjects, 52 males, mean age of 47.2 ± SD 10.4 years, with heavy use of alcohol (mean 284.4 ± SD 275.9 g of alcohol/d) over a long time (mean 32.4 ± SD 11.1 years), showed FAB 11.1 ± SD 3.2 and MMSE of 25.2 ± SD 4.1.
Multiple regression analyses having left and right side of each segment as predictors showed that gray matter volumes of rostral middle frontal cortex and cerebellar cortex (p < 0.001), in which only the left side of these structures showed significant partial effects in the full model (p < 0.05), showed to predict FAB performance. They were even more predictive when considered together (p < 0.001), in which both left rostral middle frontal cortex (p < 0.05) and left cerebellar cortex (p < 0.01) predictors had significant partial effects in the full model. None of brain structures was predictive of MMSE performance.
We have concluded that volumetric measurements of left rostral middle frontal and cerebellar cortices seem to be able to predict the frontal executive performance but not the cognitive mental status in alcoholic subjects.
酒精依赖者表现出明显的额叶执行功能缺陷，但认知心理状态仍保持在正常范围内。
本研究通过磁共振成像（MRI）获取的脑结构分割体积测量值，寻找能够预测酒精依赖者执行功能和认知心理状态的指标。对接受MRI检查的酒精依赖者进行额叶评估量表（FAB）和简易精神状态检查表（MMSE）测试。使用FreeSurfer进行皮质和皮质下分割及校正。以分割脑结构的体积测量值为预测因子，FAB或MMSE分数为因变量进行多元线性回归分析。60名酒精依赖者，其中52名男性，平均年龄47.2±标准差10.4岁，长期大量饮酒（平均每日酒精摄入量284.4±标准差275.9克），饮酒时间平均32.4±标准差11.1年，FAB评分为11.1±标准差3.2，MMSE评分为25.2±标准差4.1。
以各脑区左右两侧为预测因子的多元回归分析显示，额中回喙部皮质和小脑皮质的灰质体积（p<0.001）可预测FAB表现，在全模型中只有这些结构的左侧显示出显著的偏效应（p<0.05）。两者一起考虑时预测性更强（p<0.001），其中左侧额中回喙部皮质（p<0.05）和左侧小脑皮质（p<0.01）在全模型中均有显著偏效应。没有脑结构能够预测MMSE表现。
我们得出结论，左侧额中回喙部皮质和小脑皮质的体积测量似乎能够预测酒精依赖者的额叶执行功能，但不能预测其认知心理状态。
