National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, USA.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging. 2020 Nov 30;305:111185. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2020.111185. Epub 2020 Sep 10.
Alcohol induces neuroinflammation but its role in cognitive impairment and impulsivity in alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been poorly investigated. We used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure brain glutamate (Glu) levels and diffusion-weighted imaging to measure functional anisotropy (FA) in the thalamus and ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC) in 15 recently detoxified patients with AUD and 14 matched controls. Compared to controls, AUD patients showed higher Glu levels (p = 0.04) and lower FA in the thalamus (p = 0.04) but not in the vACC. In AUD, thalamic Glu levels (r = 0.62, p = 0.019) and FA (r=-0.55, p = 0.034) were associated with severity of drinking (drinks/week). Compared to controls, AUD patients showed higher scores on Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scale for impulsivity (p = 0.03), which correlated with glutamate levels in the thalamus (r = 0.58, p = 0.03) and vACC (r = 0.55, p = 0.036). In a second cohort of AUD patients (n = 32), Glu in dorsal ACC (dACC) also correlated with Barrett Impulsiveness Scale total score (r = 0.43, p = 0.014). We interpret the elevated thalamic Glu levels and the parallel reduction in FA in AUD-which correlated with drinking severity-as possible evidence of neurotoxicity from neuroinflammation. The association of Glu with impulsivity suggests that neurotoxic effects of chronic alcohol exposure in the thalamus and dACC may contribute to impulsivity.
酒精会引起神经炎症，但它在酒精使用障碍（AUD）中的认知障碍和冲动性中的作用尚未得到充分研究。我们使用质子磁共振波谱测量大脑谷氨酸（Glu）水平，并使用弥散加权成像测量丘脑和腹侧前扣带皮层（vACC）的功能各向异性（FA），共纳入 15 名最近戒酒后的 AUD 患者和 14 名匹配的对照。与对照组相比，AUD 患者的丘脑 Glu 水平较高（p=0.04），FA 较低（p=0.04），但 vACC 中无此差异。在 AUD 中，丘脑 Glu 水平（r=0.62，p=0.019）和 FA（r=-0.55，p=0.034）与饮酒量（每周饮酒量）有关。与对照组相比，AUD 患者的 Conners 成人注意缺陷多动障碍评定量表冲动性评分较高（p=0.03），与丘脑（r=0.58，p=0.03）和 vACC（r=0.55，p=0.036）中的谷氨酸水平相关。在 AUD 患者的第二组队列（n=32）中，背侧 ACC（dACC）中的 Glu 也与 Barrett 冲动量表总分相关（r=0.43，p=0.014）。我们将 AUD 中升高的丘脑 Glu 水平和 FA 的平行降低解释为神经炎症引起的神经毒性的可能证据。Glu 与冲动性的关联表明，慢性酒精暴露对丘脑和 dACC 的神经毒性作用可能导致冲动性。
