Reduced Cortical Gray Matter in Long-Term Abstinent Alcoholics

Ryan Shimotsu¹, Russell Chu², George Fein¹

The purpose of this study was to analyze regional gray matter volumes in the cerebral cortex in 52 long-term abstinent alcoholics (LTAA) and 48 nonalcoholic controls (NAC). Gray matter volumes were obtained from MRI scans of the brain using automated volumetry software developed in-house. The LTAA were found to have significantly reduced gray matter volumes in the occipital and parietal lobes, consistent with previous findings of spatial perception deficits in this cohort. Additionally, we did not find any volumetric differences between groups in the prefrontal and temporal lobes, consistent with our findings of intact memory function in the LTAA.