Cortez Ibdanelo, Rodgers Shaefali P, Kosten Therese A, Leasure J Leigh
Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
Department of Biology & Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
Brain Plast. 2020 Dec 29;6(1):5-25. doi: 10.3233/BPL-190094.
Historically, most alcohol neurotoxicity studies were conducted in young adult males and focused on chronic intake. There has been a shift towards studying the effects of alcohol on the adolescent brain, due to alcohol consumption during this formative period disrupting the brain's developmental trajectory. Because the most typical pattern of adolescent alcohol intake is heavy episodic (binge) drinking, there has also been a shift towards the study of binge alcohol-induced neurobehavioral toxicity. It has thus become apparent that binge alcohol damages the adolescent brain and there is increasing attention to sex-dependent effects. Significant knowledge gaps remain in our understanding of the effects of binge alcohol on the female brain, however. Moreover, it is unsettling that population-level studies indicate that the prevalence of binge drinking is increasing among American women, particularly those in older age groups. Although study of adolescents has made it apparent that binge alcohol disrupts ongoing brain maturational processes, we know almost nothing about how it impacts the aging brain, as studies of its effects on the aged brain are relatively scarce, and the study of sex-dependent effects is just beginning. Given the rapidly increasing population of older Americans, it is crucial that studies address age-dependent effects of binge alcohol, and given the increase in binge drinking in older women who are at higher risk for cognitive decline relative to men, studies must encompass both sexes. Because adolescence and older age are both characterized by age-typical brain changes, and because binge drinking is the most common pattern of alcohol intake in both age groups, the knowledge that we have amassed on binge alcohol effects on the adolescent brain can inform our study of its effects on the aging brain. In this review, we therefore cover the current state of knowledge of sex and age-dependent effects of binge alcohol, as well as statistical and methodological considerations for studies aimed at addressing them.
从历史上看，大多数酒精神经毒性研究是在年轻成年男性中进行的，并且侧重于慢性饮酒。由于在这个发育形成期饮酒会扰乱大脑的发育轨迹，研究重点已转向酒精对青少年大脑的影响。因为青少年饮酒的最典型模式是大量偶发性（暴饮）饮酒，所以研究也转向了对暴饮酒精所致神经行为毒性的研究。由此可见，暴饮酒精会损害青少年大脑，并且对性别依赖性影响的关注度也在不断提高。然而，在我们对暴饮酒精对女性大脑影响的理解方面，仍存在重大知识空白。此外，令人不安的是，基于人群的研究表明，美国女性中暴饮的患病率正在上升，尤其是年龄较大的女性群体。虽然对青少年的研究已表明暴饮酒精会扰乱大脑正在进行的成熟过程，但我们对其如何影响衰老大脑几乎一无所知，因为关于其对老年大脑影响的研究相对较少，而对性别依赖性影响的研究才刚刚开始。鉴于美国老年人口迅速增加，研究暴饮酒精的年龄依赖性影响至关重要，而且鉴于老年女性暴饮现象增加，她们相对于男性认知能力下降的风险更高，研究必须涵盖两性。由于青春期和老年期都具有年龄典型的大脑变化特征，并且由于暴饮是这两个年龄组最常见的饮酒模式，因此我们积累的关于暴饮酒精对青少年大脑影响的知识可以为我们对其对衰老大脑影响的研究提供参考。因此，在本综述中，我们涵盖了暴饮酒精的性别和年龄依赖性影响的当前知识状态，以及旨在解决这些问题的研究的统计和方法学考量。
