Convergence of three parcellation approaches demonstrating cerebellar lobule volume deficits in Alcohol Use Disorder

Recent advances in robust and reliable methods of MRI-derived cerebellar lobule parcellation volumetry present the opportunity to assess effects of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) on selective cerebellar lobules and relations with indices of nutrition and motor functions. In pursuit of this opportunity, we analyzed high-resolution MRI data acquired in 24 individuals with AUD and 20 age- and sex-matched controls with a 32-channel head coil using three different atlases: the online automated analysis pipeline volBrain Ceres, SUIT, and the Johns Hopkins atlas. Participants had also completed gait and balance examination and hematological analysis of nutritional and liver status, enabling testing of functional meaningfulness of each cerebellar parcellation scheme. Compared with controls, each quantification approach yielded similar patterns of group differences in regional volumes: All three approaches identified AUD-related deficits in total tissue and total gray matter, but only Ceres identified a total white matter volume deficit. Convergent volume differences occurred in lobules I-V, Crus I, VIIIB, and IX. Coefficients of variation (CVs) were <20% for 46 of 56 regions measured and in general were graded: Ceres