Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093, USA.
San Diego State University/University of California San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, USA.
Brain Imaging Behav. 2020 Dec;14(6):2679-2691. doi: 10.1007/s11682-019-00219-z.
Academic performance significantly influences educational advancement, career opportunities, and life outcomes. The extent to which adolescent substance use and brain morphology predict academic achievement has not been extensively explored. We examined grade point average (GPA) at the time alcohol and cannabis use often starts (7th - 9th grade) and subsequently during 11th and 12th grade in a 170 physically healthy adolescents in a longitudinal study. Covariance analysis examined predictive features from 36 metrics of middle school academic performance and initiation of alcohol and cannabis use. Using a machine learning approach, GPA from 7th, 8th, and 9th grade strongly predicted 11th and 12th grade GPA, followed in predictive power by alcohol use age of onset. A machine learning approach determined 16 (from 336) baseline neuroimaging features that reflected lower thickness, area, or volume in average high school GPA drinkers compared to nondrinkers. Features that distinguished average performing drinkers from nondrinkers suggested accelerated gray matter loss during adolescence for drinkers, while high performing drinkers compared to nondrinkers may have attenuated gray matter maturation. Additional possibilities are discussed.
学业表现显著影响教育进步、职业机会和生活成果。青少年物质使用和大脑形态学在多大程度上预测学业成绩尚未得到广泛探讨。我们在一项纵向研究中，在 170 名身体健康的青少年中，检查了通常开始饮酒和吸食大麻的 7 至 9 年级（7 至 9 年级）和随后的 11 年级和 12 年级的平均绩点 (GPA)。协方差分析检验了来自中学 36 项学业成绩和开始饮酒和吸食大麻的预测特征。使用机器学习方法，7、8 和 9 年级的 GPA 强烈预测了 11 年级和 12 年级的 GPA，其次是饮酒年龄。机器学习方法确定了 16 个（来自 336 个）基线神经影像学特征，这些特征反映了与不饮酒者相比，平均高中 GPA 饮酒者的厚度、面积或体积较低。区分普通饮酒者和不饮酒者的特征表明，饮酒者在青春期经历了加速的灰质丧失，而与不饮酒者相比，表现良好的饮酒者可能减缓了灰质成熟。还讨论了其他可能性。
