Commentary: Sex Differences in the Pathways to Symptoms of Alcohol Use Disorder: A Study of Opposite-Sex Twin Pairs

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 950-952
Author(s):  
Manav Kapoor ◽  
Arpana Agrawal
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Alcohol Use Disorder ◽  
Opposite Sex

scholarly journals Sex Differences in the Pathways to Symptoms of Alcohol Use Disorder: A Study of Opposite-Sex Twin Pairs

2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 998-1007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth S. Kendler ◽  
Alexis C. Edwards ◽  
Charles O. Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Alcohol Use Disorder ◽  
Opposite Sex

scholarly journals An Initial Investigation of Disrupted Intracortical Myelin as a Novel Brain Marker of Alcohol Use Disorder

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Morris ◽  
Luciano Minuzzi ◽  
Nicholas Bock ◽  
James MacKillop ◽  
Michael Amlung
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Gray Matter ◽  
Alcohol Use Disorder ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Posterior Cingulate ◽  
Cohen’S D ◽  
Cohen's D

Abstract: Although disruption of cortical gray matter and white matter tracts are well-established markers of alcohol use disorder (AUD), this is the first study to examine the specific role of intracortical myelin (ICM; i.e., highly myelinated gray matter in deeper cortical layers) in AUD. The current study used a 3T MRI sequence optimized for high intracortical contrast to examine patterns of ICM-related MRI signal in 30 individuals with AUD and 33 healthy social drinkers. Secondary aims included exploring continuous associations with alcohol problem severity and examining sex differences. Surface-based analytic techniques were used to quantify ICM-related MRI signal for a priori region of interest analyses (20 bilateral regions) and exploratory vertex-wise analyses (using Cohen’s d). Although the distribution of ICM-related signal was generally comparable between groups, the AUD group exhibited significantly (p<.05) greater ICM-related MRI signal in precuneus, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate, middle anterior cingulate, middle/posterior insula, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and posterior cingulate, among other regions (Cohen’s d = .50-.75, indicating medium magnitude effects). Significant positive correlations between ICM signal and AUD severity were found in several frontal, parietal, cingulate, and temporal regions (rs .25-.34). No sex differences in ICM were observed. These findings provide initial proof-of-concept for examining ICM in relation to AUD. Understanding the pathophysiological mechanisms of these associations (e.g., neuroinflammation) and the clinical relevance of ICM is warranted.

Sex Differences in Alcohol Use Disorder

2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (24) ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Agabio ◽  
Claudia Pisanu ◽  
Gian Luigi Gessa ◽  
Flavia Franconi
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Alcohol Use Disorder

Sex Differences in the Associations Between Symptom Severity, Social Cognition, and Social Brain Network Connectivity in Alcohol Use Disorder

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail Waters ◽  
Sergey Chernyak ◽  
Amy Janes ◽  
William Killgore ◽  
Shelly Greenfield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Social Cognition ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Symptom Severity ◽  
Alcohol Use Disorder ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Brain Network Connectivity

Background and Aims: Large-scale neurocognitive brain networks are necessary to coordinate social cognition. Regions of prefrontal cortex that are key nodes in these networks are highly vulnerable to alcohol neurotoxicity, which may link poor social function and alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, there is very little research on how brain networks associated with social cognition are affected by AUD, and no studies of how these effects may differ between men and women. The current study aims to address this gap by examining the interaction between sex and AUD on the connectivity between brain networks implicated in social cognition.Methods: Matched groups of men and women with and without AUD (N=156; N=39/group) were selected from the Human Connectome Project. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were used to compute functional connectivity between prefrontal networks, including default mode sub-networks (anterior dorsomedial: aDMN, ventromedial: vmDMN, temporal lobe: tDMN, and posterior DMN: pDMN), and central executive, dorsal attention, ventral attention, salience, and striatal networks. Between-network connectivity was assessed for interactions between sex, AUD diagnosis and symptom severity, and a measure of composite social cognition using non-parametric permutation testing, corrected for number of network pairs tested (Benjamini-Hochberg procedure, p<0.05 corrected). Results: Connectivity between aDMN–tDMN (AUDcontrols, pcor=.030) differed between groups. An interaction between sex and AUD symptom severity was significantly associated with aDMN–VAN (pcor= .032) connectivity. Social cognition scores were associated with aDMN–vmDMN connectivity (pcor=.003), with the relationship being moderated by sex, AUD-status, and symptom severity. Conclusions: This study addresses a critical gap in the literature on how brain network connectivity that underpins social cognition may be impaired in men and women with AUD. Our findings show that vulnerabilities emerge in men and women even at mild symptom severity and that there are significant sex differences, suggesting sex-specific treatment considerations are warranted.

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