Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 12, 2026
09:26
Disruption of Frontal Lobe Neural Synchrony During Cognitive Control by Alcohol Intoxication
Published on: February 6, 2019
[Cognitive vulnerability to alcohol dependence: related neuroanatomic endophenotypes]
A-S Seigneurie1, C Guérin Langlois, F Limosin
1Service universitaire de psychiatrie de l'adulte et du sujet âgé, hôpital Corentin-Celton, groupe hospitalier hôpitaux universitaires Paris-Ouest, Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), 4, parvis Corentin-Celton, 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.
L'Encephale
|April 2, 2013
Summary
High-risk individuals for alcohol dependence show brain volume deficits, particularly in white matter and gray matter regions. These structural brain abnormalities are linked to impulsivity and executive dysfunction, indicating a potential inherited vulnerability to alcohol use disorder.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Genetics
- Psychiatry
Context:
- Alcohol dependence has a significant heritable component.
- Executive function impairments and impulsivity are potential endophenotypes for alcohol dependence.
- Brain volume abnormalities are observed in young, alcohol-naïve individuals at high risk for alcohol dependence.
Purpose:
- To review magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies on brain volumes in high-risk (HR) offspring of families with multiple alcohol dependence cases.
- To compare brain volumes in HR individuals with low-risk controls.
- To examine associations between brain structure, executive functioning, and externalizing symptoms in HR individuals.
Summary:
- HR subjects exhibit white matter deficits in the corpus callosum and right orbito-frontal cortex, and reduced fractional anisotropy in specific white matter tracts.
- Diminished gray matter volumes are found in the cerebellar cortex, frontal, cingulate, parahippocampal gyri, amygdala, thalamus, and cerebellum in HR individuals.
- These structural abnormalities correlate with increased impulsivity and executive function deficits, suggesting a premorbid vulnerability to alcohol use disorder.
Impact:
- Identifies specific brain structural abnormalities associated with inherited risk for alcohol dependence.
- Suggests that these neural network alterations may underlie reward deficiency and impaired response inhibition, contributing to impulsive behaviors.
- Provides insights into the neurobiological mechanisms of alcohol use disorder vulnerability.
Keywords:
AlcoholismAlcoolBrain volumeCognitionEndophénotypeExecutive functionImpulsivityImpulsivitéVolume cérébralVulnerabilityMore Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:15Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena
Drug dependence, abuse, and addiction are complex phenomena that can precipitate various abnormal states. Physical dependence refers to a state of pharmacological adaptation to a drug. This adaptation often results in tolerance—a reduced response to the drug after repeated administrations. When the drug use is abruptly stopped, withdrawal symptoms occur due to the body's need to readjust from the pharmacologically induced imbalance. However, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms do not necessarily...
01:27CNS Depressants: Alcohol and Nicotine
Ethanol, a clear colorless alcohol, has been consumed by humans for millennia, but its effects on the body are far from benign. At lower doses, it induces decreased inhibitions and loquaciousness, leading to its social appeal. However, it can cause severe consequences at higher doses, such as coma and respiratory depression, due to its zero-order elimination kinetics. Chronic ethanol abuse wreaks havoc on multiple organ systems, particularly the CNS and the liver. Abrupt cessation of ethanol...
01:29Hepatic Encephalopathy
DefinitionHepatic encephalopathy is a reversible neurologic syndrome that results from advanced liver dysfunction or portosystemic shunting. It leads to disturbances in cognition, behavior, and motor function due to the brain’s exposure to gut-derived toxins that the liver fails to detoxify.EtiologyThis condition develops either in the setting of acute fulminant hepatitis or progressively during chronic liver disease, such as cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Portosystemic shunting—including...
01:23Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Alzheimer disease involves structural changes in the brain that begin long before symptoms appear. The most distinctive features are extracellular neuritic plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles.Neuritic plaques form in the cerebral cortex and around blood vessels. These plaques contain a dense core of beta-amyloid (Aβ)—a toxic protein fragment that clumps outside neurons. The core is surrounded by damaged neuronal extensions, as well as reactive astrocytes and microglia. Abnormal...
01:29Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Alzheimer disease is a chronic, progressive, and irreversible neurodegenerative disorder and the most common cause of dementia in older adults. It leads to gradual neuronal loss, causing cognitive decline, behavioral changes, and loss of functional independence.Risk Factors and EtiologyThe disease is multifactorial. Age is the strongest risk factor, with prevalence doubling every 5 years after age 65. Genetic factors include mutations in genes such as APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2, which are associated...
01:17Drug Dependence
Medications are typically administered to achieve therapeutic effects. Some drugs can modify an individual's mood and perception, frequently resulting in various enjoyable experiences. However, this can result in drug dependency, a condition marked by continuous drug use despite potential negative consequences. Drug dependency primarily falls into two categories: psychological and physical dependence. Psychological dependence occurs when the pleasurable feelings induced by the drug...