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Volumetric differences in the anterior cingulate cortex prospectively predict alcohol-related problems in adolescence

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Abstract

Rationale

Individual differences in brain structure and function are suggested to exist prior to the onset of alcohol abuse. Cross-sectional studies have demonstrated abnormalities in brain regions underlying affective processes that may form a pathway to the emergence of later alcohol abuse and dependence in vulnerable individuals. However, no prospective studies have examined whether these abnormalities predict later problems with alcohol.

Objective

This study aims to examine whether individual differences in affect and brain volume prospectively predict alcohol-related problems in adolescence.

Method

Adolescent drinkers (n = 98) were recruited from an ongoing prospective, longitudinal study examining adolescent emotional development. At age 12, participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging to obtain volumetric data on the amygdala, hippocampus, orbitofrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and completed a self-report measure of affective temperament. At age 16, participants completed a questionnaire measuring alcohol use, with 39 % reporting alcohol-related problems in the past year.

Results

Pre-existing differences in the left ACC predicted problem drinking. Alcohol-related problems were associated with higher levels of temperamental negative affectivity; however, these were not correlated with anterior cingulate volumes.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that individual differences in the structural morphology of the anterior cingulate, a region implicated in affective processes, self-control, and drug addiction, predict later alcohol-related problems. Although this finding remained significant after controlling for other substance use and psychopathology, future research is required to test its specificity for alcohol use disorders.

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Notes

  1. The effect of ACC volume on alcohol-related problems was significant prior to controlling for all covariates, including lifetime drinking. However, as the aim of this study was to identify characteristics that predicted problematic use independently of heavy alcohol use, these associations are not reported.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grants from the Colonial Foundation, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC; Australia; Programme Grant 350241) and the Australian Research Council (Discovery Grant DP0878136). Dr. Whittle is supported by an NHMRC Career Development Fellowship (ID: 1007716). Prof. Yücel is supported by an NHMRC Fellowship Award (ID: 1021973).

Financial disclosure

The authors have no competing financial interests to declare in relation to the current study. The authors have full control of all primary data and agree to allow the journal to review their data if requested.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, Centre for Youth Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Ali Cheetham, Nicholas B. Allen, Sarah Whittle & Julian Simmons

  2. Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, Eastern Health and Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Ali Cheetham & Dan I. Lubman

  3. Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Nicholas B. Allen & Julian Simmons

  4. Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Sarah Whittle & Murat Yücel

  5. Monash Clinical and Imaging Neuroscience, School of Psychology and Psychiatry, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Murat Yücel

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  1. Ali Cheetham
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  2. Nicholas B. Allen
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  3. Sarah Whittle
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  4. Julian Simmons
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  5. Murat Yücel
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  6. Dan I. Lubman
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Correspondence to Dan I. Lubman.

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Cheetham, A., Allen, N.B., Whittle, S. et al. Volumetric differences in the anterior cingulate cortex prospectively predict alcohol-related problems in adolescence. Psychopharmacology 231, 1731–1742 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-014-3483-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-014-3483-8

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