Hypoperfusion of the Cerebellum and Aging Effects on Cerebral Cortex Blood Flow in Abstinent Alcoholics: A SPECT Study

Harris, Gordon J.; Oscar‐Berman, Marlene; Gansler, A.; Streeter, Chris C.; Lewis, Robert F.; Ahmed, Iqbal; Achong, Dwight M.

doi:10.1111/j.1530-0277.1999.tb04281.x

Cited by 13 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(51 reference statements)

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“…Additionally, an fMRI study of alcoholic and nonalcoholic control subjects performing a verbal working memory task showed that despite comparable levels of task performance by the two groups, the alcoholic group exhibited greater fMRI activation than the control group in the right superior cerebellar and left frontal regions (Desmond et al 2003). As Sullivan and her colleagues have suggested, it may be that increased demands on frontal brain regions may be incurred to overcome alcoholism-related impairments, and that the cerebellum provides supplementary compensation for maintaining information in a compromised brain system (Desmond et al 2003;Harris et al 1999;Sullivan 2003) Alcoholics with Korsakoff's syndrome have shown a significant decrease in Purkinje cell density in the cerebellar vermis and molecular layer volume (Baker et al 1999). A 36% reduction in Purkinje cell numbers in the flocculi suggests disruption of vestibulocerebellar pathways.…”

Section: Hypothalamusmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Together, these observations suggest a functional role for frontocerebellar circuitry (Schmahmann 1997). Further, cerebellar volume shrinkage in alcoholics has been shown to correlate with performance on tests of executive function, traditionally attributed to frontal pathology, thus revealing the importance of disrupted frontocerebellar circuitry in the constellation of alcoholism-related functional impairments (Chanraud et al 2007;Harris et al 1999;Sullivan 2003;Sullivan et al 2003). Additionally, an fMRI study of alcoholic and nonalcoholic control subjects performing a verbal working memory task showed that despite comparable levels of task performance by the two groups, the alcoholic group exhibited greater fMRI activation than the control group in the right superior cerebellar and left frontal regions (Desmond et al 2003).…”

Section: Hypothalamusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…That is, certain brain structures show greater reduction in size (or blood flow) in older alcoholics than in younger alcoholics: the cerebral cortex (Di Sclafani et al 1995;Harris et al 1999;Pfefferbaum et al 1997), the corpus callosum (Pfefferbaum et al 1996(Pfefferbaum et al , 2006Schulte et al 2005), the hippocampus (Laakso et al 2000;Sullivan et al 1995), and the cerebellum (Harris et al 1999;.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Alcohol: Effects on Neurobehavioral Functions and the Brain

2007

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Alcoholism results from an interplay between genetic and environmental factors, and is linked to brain defects and associated cognitive, emotional, and behavioral impairments. A confluence of findings from neuroimaging, physiological, neuropathological, and neuropsychological studies of alcoholics indicate that the frontal lobes, limbic system, and cerebellum are particularly vulnerable to damage and dysfunction. An integrative approach employing a variety of neuroscientific technologies is essential for recognizing the interconnectivity of the different functional systems affected by alcoholism. In that way, relevant experimental techniques can be applied to assist in determining the degree to which abstinence and treatment contribute to the reversal of atrophy and dysfunction.

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Section: Hypothalamusmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Hypothalamusmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Alcohol: Effects on Neurobehavioral Functions and the Brain

2007

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“…We hypothesized that voxel-wise FCD analysis will show effects in regions that are most sensitive to acute or chronic alcohol effects such as the cerebellum, 3, 35 thalamus, 36 frontal cortex, 37 and limbic system. 38, 39 Since alcohol intoxication is associated with multiple behavioral domains, 40, 41 here we investigated the association between brain regions showing significant alcohol-related changes in FCD and behavioral measures in three categories: mood/drug effects, motor, and cognitive functions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alcohol affects brain functional connectivity and its coupling with behavior: greater effects in male heavy drinkers

et al. 2016

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Acute and chronic alcohol exposure significantly affect behavior but the underlying neurobiological mechanisms are still poorly understood. Here we used functional connectivity density (FCD) mapping to study alcohol-related changes in resting brain activity and their association with behavior. Heavy drinkers (HD; N=16; 16 males) and normal controls (NM; N=24; 14 males) were tested after placebo and after acute alcohol administration. Group comparisons showed that NM had higher FCD in visual and prefrontal cortices, default-mode network regions, and thalamus, while HD had higher FCD in cerebellum. Acute alcohol significantly increased FCD within the thalamus, impaired cognitive and motor functions, and affected self-reports of mood/drug effects in both groups. Partial least squares regression showed alcohol-induced changes in mood/drug effects were associated with changes in thalamic FCD in both groups. Disruptions in motor function were associated with increases in cerebellar FCD in NM and thalamus FCD in HD. Alcohol-induced declines in cognitive performance were associated with connectivity increases in visual cortex and thalamus in NM, but in HD, increases in precuneus FCD were associated with improved cognitive performance. Acute alcohol reduced “neurocognitive coupling”, the association between behavioral performance and FCD (indexing brain activity), an effect that was accentuated in HD compared to NM. Findings suggest that reduced cortical connectivity in HD contribute to decline in cognitive abilities associated with heavy alcohol consumption, whereas increased cerebellar connectivity in HD may have compensatory effects on behavioral performance. The results reveal how drinking history alters the association between brain functional connectivity density and individual differences in behavioral performance.

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“…In our study, in contrast to EO alcoholics, LO alcoholics showed inferior occipital brain area perfusion defect. As the LO group is considered to be older, depending on the effect of aging on the brain, hypoperfusion in posterior brain area like cerebellum and occipital lob may occur in alcoholism [28].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of regional cerebral blood flow in patients with early and late onset alcohol dependence: a SPECT study

Erdoğan¹,

Vardar²,

Altun³

et al. 2018

Journal of Surgery and Medicine

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How to cite / Atıf için: Erdoğan E, Vardar E, Altun GD, Fırat MF. Assessment of regional cerebral blood flow in patients with early and late onset alcohol dependence: SPECT study. J Surg Med. 2018;2(3):257-261. AbstractAim: Alcohol dependence has negative effects on the structure and functionality of the brain. The age of onset of alcohol is an important parameter in the grouping of alcoholics. The aim of this study is to compare whether regional cerebral blood flow (r-CBF) values differ between early (EO) versus late onset (LO) alcoholic patients. Methods: A total of 33 male patients with alcohol dependence as per DSM-IV criteria and 13 healthy controls were enrolled for the study. Regional measures of cortical cerebral blood flow were assessed using a high resolution Tc99m-HMPAO single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Alcoholic subjects were divided into two groups according to onset of problematic alcohol drinking age.Results: When three groups were compared, r-CBF differences were obtained in inferior frontal, inferior temporal, inferior left occipital and middle left frontal regions. Decreased r-CBF values were found in LO group when they compared to controls in both lower frontal and temporal regions (p<0.05). LO group showed significant reduced r-CBF values in regions of inferior frontal and temporal, inferior left occipital and middle left frontal when compared with EO. Conclusion: Our findings revealed that, there were differences in r-CBF values in EO and LO alcoholics at early abstinence period. These findings suggest that frontal lobes have a key role in alcoholism neurobiology, as noted in previous studies. Repeating the measurements after a long-term abstinence will be useful in revealing differences among the alcoholic groups.

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Hypoperfusion of the Cerebellum and Aging Effects on Cerebral Cortex Blood Flow in Abstinent Alcoholics: A SPECT Study

Abstract: The findings support hypotheses that the residual effects of alcoholism include cerebellar brain abnormalities and that aging combined with long-term alcoholism leads to cerebral cortical decline.

Cited by 13 publications

References 39 publications

Alcohol: Effects on Neurobehavioral Functions and the Brain

Alcohol: Effects on Neurobehavioral Functions and the Brain

Alcohol affects brain functional connectivity and its coupling with behavior: greater effects in male heavy drinkers

Assessment of regional cerebral blood flow in patients with early and late onset alcohol dependence: a SPECT study

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