Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Hartford HealthCare Corporation, Hartford, Connecticut.
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.
Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging. 2018 Jul;3(7):610-617. doi: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2018.02.006. Epub 2018 Mar 14.
The hazardous effects of alcohol consumption on both the hippocampus and memory have been well established. However, the longitudinal effects of ethanol on the developing brain and related consequences on memory are not well explored. Given the above, we investigated the longitudinal effects of college drinking on hippocampal volume in emerging college adults.
Data were derived from the longitudinal Brain and Alcohol Research with College Students study. A subset of 146 freshmen (mean age at baseline = 18.5 years) underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging scans at baseline and 24 months later. Four drinking-related measures derived from monthly surveys were reduced to a single alcohol use index using principal component analysis. Gray matter volumetric change (GMV-c) data were derived using a longitudinal pipeline. Voxelwise hippocampal/para-hippocampal GMV-c associations with the drinking index were derived using a multiple regression framework within SPM12. Supplementary associations were assessed between GMV-c and memory scores computed from the California Verbal Learning Test-II (assessed at the end of the study), and between GMV-c and total alcohol-induced memory blackouts.
Larger alcohol use index was associated with an accelerated GMV decline in the hippocampus/para-hippocampus. Also, larger hippocampal volume decline was associated with poorer memory performance and more memory blackouts.
Our study extends prior cross-sectional literature by showing that a heavier drinking burden while in college is associated with greater hippocampal GMV decline that is in turn associated with poorer memory scores, all of which could ultimately have a significant impact on student success.
酒精消费对海马体和记忆的有害影响已经得到充分证实。然而，乙醇对发育中大脑的纵向影响及其对记忆的相关后果尚未得到充分探索。鉴于此，我们研究了大学生饮酒对新兴大学生海马体体积的纵向影响。
数据来自纵向脑与酒精研究大学生研究。146 名新生（基线时的平均年龄为 18.5 岁）的一个子集在基线和 24 个月后接受了脑部磁共振成像扫描。从每月调查中得出的四个与饮酒有关的测量值被简化为使用主成分分析的单个酒精使用指数。使用纵向管道得出灰质体积变化（GMV-c）数据。使用 SPM12 中的多元回归框架，从海马体/副海马体的 GMV-c 与饮酒指数的关联中得出体素关联。在研究结束时评估加利福尼亚语言学习测试-II（CALGB）计算的记忆分数与 GMV-c 之间的补充关联，以及 GMV-c 与总酒精引起的记忆空白之间的补充关联。
更大的酒精使用指数与海马体/副海马体的 GMV 下降加速相关。此外，更大的海马体体积下降与较差的记忆表现和更多的记忆空白有关。
我们的研究通过显示在大学期间更大的饮酒负担与更大的海马体 GMV 下降相关，而更大的海马体 GMV 下降与较差的记忆分数相关，这最终可能对学生的成功产生重大影响，从而扩展了先前的横断面文献。
