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Updated: Aug 20, 2026
Disruption of Frontal Lobe Neural Synchrony During Cognitive Control by Alcohol Intoxication
Published on: February 6, 2019
Glucose utilization in the medial prefrontal cortex correlates with serotonin turnover rate and clinical depression
Wendol Williams1, Matthias Reimold, Michael Kerich
1National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Abstract:
We measured the serotonin metabolite 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), regional cerebral glucose uptake (rCMRglc) as assessed with positron emission tomography in the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) and severity of clinical depression (Beck's Depression Inventory, BDI) in detoxified male alcoholics and age-matched healthy men. In alcoholics, the severity of clinical depression was negatively correlated with rCMRglc in the medial PFC and positively with CSF 5-HIAA concentrations. A voxel-based analysis showed that the strongest correlation between CSF 5-HIAA levels and rCMRglc was found in alcoholics in the left orbitofrontal and medial PFC (BA10 and BA11); no significant correlations were observed among healthy control subjects. This pilot study indicates that a dysfunction of medial PFC may interact with central serotonin turnover and negative mood states during early abstinence.
