Brain morphology predictors of alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis use in adolescence: A systematic review

Alcohol use and grey matter structure: Disentangling predispositional and causal contributions in human studies

“…Several studies have observed that brain structure temporally predicts future drinking behaviour 16,18 . We and others have found that smaller indices of brain structure, particularly volume and thickness of the prefrontal cortex (e.g., superior and middle frontal gyri), as well as thickness of several other regions (e.g., VLPFC, frontal pole, precuneus, superior parietal cortex, supramarginal gyrus, temporal pole, and transverse temporal gyrus) prospectively predict alcohol use initiation among adolescents who were substance naïve at the scan 7,39,40 .…”

“…Several studies have observed that brain structure temporally predicts future drinking behaviour. 16,18 We and others have found that smaller indices of brain structure, particularly volume and thickness of the prefrontal cortex (e.g., superior and middle frontal gyri), as well as thickness of several other regions (e.g., VLPFC, frontal pole, precuneus, superior parietal cortex, supramarginal gyrus, temporal pole, and transverse temporal gyrus) prospectively predict alcohol use initiation among adolescents who were substance naïve at the scan. 7,39,40 A partially overlapping set of regions has also been shown to be associated with later alcohol use in participants who were alcohol-exposed at the time of scanning, including reduced volume of superior and middle frontal gyri and insula, VLPFC, and anterior cingulate.…”

“…Alternatively, if brain structure differences preceded alcohol involvement changes, this would highlight the potential predisposing vulnerability of variability in brain structure. Here, we briefly touch on the longitudinal literature, which has been recently reviewed elsewhere 16–19 …”

“…Here, we briefly touch on the longitudinal literature, which has been recently reviewed elsewhere. [16][17][18][19] 2.1.1 | Evidence for changes in alcohol involvement preceding changes in brain structure…”

“…We then discuss human study designs that can be used to inform whether observed associations reflect causal consequences of alcohol involvement and/or predispositional risk factors (Figure 1) and what they have revealed about brain structure correlates of alcohol involvement (Figure 2). We first touch on longitudinal designs, which have been recently reviewed, [16][17][18][19] and then discuss how these results can be integrated with the nascent literature leveraging family-based and genomic designs. Ultimately, by relying on convergent evidence from divergent study designs, we propose that an integrative predispositional/neurotoxic model best explains existing data, in which variability in brain structure predisposes individuals to alcohol involvement, which in turn has neurotoxic consequences, particularly when use is heavy and chronic 7,[20][21][22] (Figure 3).…”