Corpus Callosum Atrophy in Alcohol-Dependent Men with Memory Disorders and Visual Attention Difficulties

The earlier research confirm the relationship between structural changes in the corpus callosum and difficulties in attention and memory in the group of patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). Nevertheless, the image of auditory and visual memory disorders in men with gradual atrophy of the corpus callosum and different alcohol abuse duration, it has not been explained yet. The overriding objective of this study was: (1) to determine whether there are principal and interaction effects of visuospatial and auditory-verbal memory on alcohol consumption and cross-sectional corpus callosum area in men with alcohol use disorder, (2) to assess the impact of callosal changes on the memory and visual attention processes.

97 men with alcohol use disorder were examined. T1-weighted scans were used to carry out corpus callosum segmentation and volumetric measurements. The cognition profile included two domains: attention, memory (visuospatial and auditory-verbal).

The results showed that participants with visuospatial memory disorder had inferior education background, and were characterized by a longer duration of alcohol abuse, more severe alcohol use disorder, and greater alcohol consumption per day. Second, alcohol-dependent men with auditory and visual memory disorders had a smaller frontal and posterior part of the corpus callosum areas. Additionally, among the alcohol-dependent men with memory disorders the smaller rostral body of corpus callosum was determined by the longer alcohol abuse duration. On the other hand, the smaller rostral body of corpus callosum was predicted by the older age only in alcohol-dependent men with normal memory. Among all examined individuals were observed a statistically significant relationships among visual attention, visuospatial memory and corpus callosum subregions including in particular genu and isthmus.

The smaller corpus callosum cross-sectional area significantly affects visual attention and memory difficulties in alcohol use disorder, especially have differentiated the patients with normal and disordered memory. Longer alcohol abuse duration plays also a significant role in the corpus callosum atrophy in alcohol-dependent men with disordered memory (visuospatial in particular).