Department of Adolescent Psychiatry, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland; Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland.
Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States.
Alcohol. 2021 May;92:35-40. doi: 10.1016/j.alcohol.2021.02.002. Epub 2021 Feb 6.
Excessive alcohol use results in cerebellar damage in adults, but there has been less research on how alcohol use during adolescence affects the cerebellum. In this study, we observed that heavy drinking from adolescence to young adulthood was associated with altered volumes of cerebellar lobules. The study included two groups consisting of 33 heavy-drinking and 25 light-drinking participants. The heavy-drinking participants were highly functional young adults without alcohol use disorder, but with a history of regular heavy alcohol consumption. The participants were 13-18 years old at baseline and were followed for 10 years. At the age of 21-28 years, the participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). From the MR images, the cerebellum was segmented into 12 lobules using the CERES pipeline. Heavy drinking did not influence the absolute cerebellar volume, but changes were observed in posterior cerebellar lobules associated with motor and cognitive functions. The absolute volume (p = 0.038) and gray matter volume (p = 0.034) of Crus II (hemispheres combined) were smaller in the heavy-drinking group. Furthermore, the relative volume of the right VIIIB lobule was larger in the HD group (p = 0.036). However, there were no differences in the absolute right VIIIB volumes (p = 0.198) between the groups. Our results suggest changes in the cerebellum in healthy young adults with a history of heavy drinking from adolescence. The exact implications and significance of these findings require further research.
过量饮酒会导致成年人小脑损伤，但关于青少年时期饮酒如何影响小脑的研究较少。在这项研究中，我们观察到从青春期到成年早期的大量饮酒与小脑小叶体积的改变有关。该研究包括两个组，分别由 33 名重度饮酒者和 25 名轻度饮酒者组成。重度饮酒者是功能正常的年轻成年人，没有酒精使用障碍，但有定期大量饮酒的病史。参与者在基线时年龄为 13-18 岁，并随访了 10 年。在 21-28 岁时，参与者接受了磁共振成像（MRI）检查。从 MRI 图像中，使用 CERES 管道将小脑分为 12 个小叶。大量饮酒并没有影响小脑的绝对体积，但与运动和认知功能相关的后小脑小叶发生了变化。小脑的绝对体积（p=0.038）和灰质体积（p=0.034）在重度饮酒组中较小。此外，右侧 VIIIB 小叶的相对体积在 HD 组中更大（p=0.036）。然而，两组间右侧 VIIIB 小叶的绝对体积没有差异（p=0.198）。我们的研究结果表明，有青春期大量饮酒史的健康年轻成年人的小脑发生了变化。这些发现的确切含义和意义需要进一步研究。
