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Maleki N, Sawyer KS, Levy S, Harris GJ, Oscar-Berman M. Intrinsic brain functional connectivity patterns in alcohol use disorder. Brain Commun 2022; 4:fcac290. [PMID: 36419966 PMCID: PMC9679426 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Revised: 08/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder is associated with damaging effects to the brain. This study aimed to examine differences in static and dynamic intrinsic functional connectivity patterns in individuals with a history of alcohol use disorder in comparison to those with no history of alcohol abuse. A total of 55 participants consisting of 23 patients and 32 control individuals underwent neuropsychological assessments and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging on a 3 Tesla MRI scanner. Differences in functional connectivity between the two groups were determined using static and dynamic independent component analysis. Differences in static functional connectivity between the two groups were identified in the default mode network, attention network, frontoparietal network, frontal cortical network and cerebellar network. Furthermore, the analyses revealed specific differences in the dynamic temporal characteristics of functional connectivity between the two groups of participants, in a cluster involving key regions in reward, sensorimotor and frontal cortical functional networks, with some connections correlating with the length of sobriety and some others with the severity of drinking. The findings altogether suggest dysregulation in the intrinsic connectivity of cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical loops that may reflect persistent alcohol use disorder-related network abnormalities, compensatory recovery-related processes whereby additional neural resources are recruited to achieve normal levels of performance, or a predisposition toward developing alcohol use disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nasim Maleki
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA.,Psychology Research Service, VA Healthcare System, Jamaica Plain Campus, Boston, MA 02130, USA
| | - Kayle S Sawyer
- Psychology Research Service, VA Healthcare System, Jamaica Plain Campus, Boston, MA 02130, USA.,Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA.,Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA.,Sawyer Scientific, LLC, Boston, MA 02130, USA
| | - Sarah Levy
- Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Gordon J Harris
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Marlene Oscar-Berman
- Psychology Research Service, VA Healthcare System, Jamaica Plain Campus, Boston, MA 02130, USA.,Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA.,Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02129, USA
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2
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Dannenhoffer CA, Robertson MM, Macht VA, Mooney SM, Boettiger CA, Robinson DL. Chronic alcohol exposure during critical developmental periods differentially impacts persistence of deficits in cognitive flexibility and related circuitry. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2021; 160:117-173. [PMID: 34696872 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2021.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive flexibility in decision making depends on prefrontal cortical function and is used by individuals to adapt to environmental changes in circumstances. Cognitive flexibility can be measured in the laboratory using a variety of discrete, translational tasks, including those that involve reversal learning and/or set-shifting ability. Distinct components of flexible behavior rely upon overlapping brain circuits, including different prefrontal substructures that have separable impacts on decision making. Cognitive flexibility is impaired after chronic alcohol exposure, particularly during development when the brain undergoes rapid maturation. This review examines how cognitive flexibility, as indexed by reversal and set-shifting tasks, is impacted by chronic alcohol exposure in adulthood, adolescent, and prenatal periods in humans and animal models. We also discuss areas for future study, including mechanisms that may contribute to the persistence of cognitive deficits after developmental alcohol exposure and the compacting consequences from exposure across multiple critical periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- C A Dannenhoffer
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - M M Robertson
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Victoria A Macht
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - S M Mooney
- Nutrition Research Institute and Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - C A Boettiger
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; Neuroscience Curriculum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Donita L Robinson
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States; Neuroscience Curriculum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, United States.
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3
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Powell A, Tommerdahl M, Abbasi Y, Sumnall H, Montgomery C. A pilot study assessing the brain gauge as an indicator of cognitive recovery in alcohol dependence. Hum Psychopharmacol 2021; 36:e2782. [PMID: 33682954 DOI: 10.1002/hup.2782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Alcohol dependence (AD) is associated with multiple cognitive deficits, which can affect treatment outcomes. Current measures of tracking brain recovery (e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging) can be less accessible for practitioners. This study pilots a novel device (the brain gauge; BG) to assess its utility, and track recovery of cognitive function in residential alcohol treatment. METHODS A repeated measures design assessed changes in cognitive function during detoxification. Twenty-one participants with AD (16 Male; Mean age 43.85 ± 6.21) completed a battery of alcohol and memory questionnaires and BG tasks at two time-points (∼days 4 and 10) during a single managed detoxification episode. RESULTS Repeated measures ANCOVA revealed that some BG metrics significantly improved, with medium to large effect sizes - processing speed, focus, temporal order judgement and overall cortical metric. However, differences in subjective cognitive function were non-significant after controlling for depression and anxiety change scores. Anxiety change emerged as a significant factor in subjective cognitive function. CONCLUSIONS We conclude it is possible that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) recovers more slowly compared to other brain areas, and there are compounding effects of improvements in anxiety and depression, and metacognitive deficits on subjective EF assessments. Future research should seek to validate the clinical utility of the BG by comparing against established neuroimaging methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Powell
- Research Centre for Brain and Behaviour, School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Mark Tommerdahl
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
| | - Yasir Abbasi
- Maudsley Health - Al Amal Psychiatric Hospital, Dubai
| | - Harry Sumnall
- Public Health Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK.,Liverpool Centre for Alcohol Research, Liverpool, UK
| | - Catharine Montgomery
- Research Centre for Brain and Behaviour, School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK.,Liverpool Centre for Alcohol Research, Liverpool, UK
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4
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Chicchi Giglioli IA, Pérez Gálvez B, Gil Granados A, Alcañiz Raya M. The Virtual Cooking Task: A Preliminary Comparison Between Neuropsychological and Ecological Virtual Reality Tests to Assess Executive Functions Alterations in Patients Affected by Alcohol Use Disorder. CYBERPSYCHOLOGY, BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL NETWORKING 2021; 24:673-682. [PMID: 33761276 DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2020.0560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a major global problem. Neuropsychological studies have shown that AUD causes deficits in executive functions (EFs), a set of higher order cognitive skills that govern individual behavior in everyday situations. Many standardized neuropsychological tests are used to evaluate EF. These are reliable and valid but have limitations in predicting real-life performance. To address this, we present a preliminary study to test the virtual cooking task (VCT) as an alternative to standardized neuropsychological tests. The VCT includes four subtasks developed to assess attentional, planning, and cognitive shifting abilities; it was tested in an immersive three-dimensional environment. To evaluate the VCT performance and standardized neuropsychological tests, data were gathered from a sample of healthy subjects (control group [CG]; n = 23) and AUD patients (n = 18). The standardized neuropsychological measures used consisted of questionnaires (Attentional Control Scale, Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, and Cognitive Flexibility Scale) and specific tests (Dot-probe task, Go/No-go test, Stroop test, the trail making test, and Tower of London test). The results showed significant higher correlations for AUD patients than for the CG for the VCT, questionnaires, and specific tests, mainly related to planning and cognitive shifting abilities. Furthermore, comparative analyses of the VCT performance showed that the AUD patients made more errors and had higher latency times than the CG. The present study provides initial evidence that a more ecologically valid assessment can be a useful tool to detect cognitive impairments in many neuropsychological and mental disorders, affecting daily activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Alice Chicchi Giglioli
- Department of Graphics Engineering, Instituto de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería (I3B), Universitat Politècnica de València, València, Spain
| | - Bartolomé Pérez Gálvez
- Health Department, Unidad de Alcohología, Hospital Universitario de San Juan, Alicante, Spain.,Departamento de Medicina Clínica, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Elche, Spain
| | - Andrea Gil Granados
- Department of Graphics Engineering, Instituto de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería (I3B), Universitat Politècnica de València, València, Spain
| | - Mariano Alcañiz Raya
- Department of Graphics Engineering, Instituto de Investigación e Innovación en Bioingeniería (I3B), Universitat Politècnica de València, València, Spain
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5
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Stop! - The automatic tendency of action, inhibition and frontal activation in individuals with alcohol-use disorder in abstinence. Int J Psychophysiol 2020; 158:123-135. [PMID: 33075432 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2020] [Revised: 07/02/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Studying the functioning of the frontal lobe during the performance of an inhibitory activity according to automatic tendency of action would allow a better understanding of the relationship between the reflexive and impulsive system described in the dual-process models. This study aims to prove which is the inhibitory capacity and the underlying brain activity of people with alcohol-use disorder in abstinence with a greater avoidance tendency compared to those with a higher approach tendency and healthy controls. In order to group participants with AUD, the total approach/avoidance index (TAAI) - obtained from the modified alcohol approach/avoidance task - was used, therefore resulting in three groups: TAAI- (TAAI < Percentile 35: n = 20), TAAI± (TAAI = Percentile 35-65: n = 20) and TAAI+ (TAAI > Percentile 65: n = 20). In addition to this, 15 healthy controls were recruited. They all had an electroencephalographic recording while completing the modified stop-signal task. The results showed that the TAAI+ group had a worse inhibition compared to healthy controls. Moreover, the TAAI+ group showed a hyperactivation of the inferior frontal gyrus, precentral gyrus and orbital gyrus compared to the healthy controls group and the TAAI- group. The results obtained reflect that those people with AUD with a tendency to approach alcohol have a worse inhibitory capacity and a frontal hyperactivation. Moreover, people with AUD with an avoidance tendency to alcohol have also been found to have a similar inhibitory capacity and frontal activation to healthy controls.
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6
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Millie LA, Boehm SL, Grahame NJ. Attentional set shifting in HAP3, LAP3, and cHAP mice is unaffected by either genetic differences in alcohol preference or an alcohol drinking history. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol 2020; 28:379-387. [PMID: 32150428 PMCID: PMC7390659 DOI: 10.1037/pha0000359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol consumption may precede, or result from, behavioral inflexibility and contribute to individuals' difficulties ceasing drinking. Attentional set shifting tasks are an animal analog to a human behavioral flexibility task requiring recognition of a previous strategy as inappropriate, and the formation and maintenance of a novel strategy (Floresco, Block, & Tse, 2008). Abstinent individuals with alcohol use disorder, nonalcoholic individuals with a family history of alcoholism, and mice exposed to chronic-intermittent alcohol vapor show impaired behavioral flexibility (Gierski et al., 2013; Hu, Morris, Carrasco, & Kroener, 2015; Oscar-Berman et al., 2009). Behavioral flexibility deficits can be linked to frontal cortical regions connected to the striatum (Ragozzino, 2007), and alterations to the endocannabinoid system, implicated in drug seeking and consumption (Economidou et al., 2006; Serrano & Parsons, 2011), may affect these behaviors. Alcohol-preferring and nonpreferring rodents exhibit differences in CB1 receptor expression (CB1R; Hansson et al., 2007; Hungund & Basavarajappa, 2000), but whether dorsal striatal CB1Rs are important for other alcohol-related behaviors such as attentional set shifting tasks remains unclear. This study assesses whether selectively bred high (HAP) versus low alcohol-preferring mice differ in an operant attentional set shifting task or CB1R levels in the dorsal striatum and whether a history of voluntary alcohol consumption in crossed HAP mice exacerbates inflexibility. Contrary to our hypothesis, neither genetic differences in alcohol preference nor drinking affected set shifting. However, high alcohol-preferring mice-3 mice showed reduced levels of dorsal striatal CB1R compared with low alcohol-preferring-3 mice, suggesting that genetic differences in alcohol consumption may be mediated in part by striatal CB1R. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren A Millie
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
| | - Stephen L Boehm
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
| | - Nicholas J Grahame
- Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
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7
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Sion A, Bruña Fernández R, Martínez Maldonado A, Domínguez Centeno I, Torrado‐Carvajal A, Rubio G, Pereda E, Jurado‐Barba R. Resting‐state connectivity and network parameter analysis in alcohol‐dependent males. A simultaneous EEG‐MEG study. J Neurosci Res 2020; 98:1857-1876. [DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2020] [Revised: 05/15/2020] [Accepted: 05/25/2020] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ana Sion
- 12 de Octubre Biomedical Research Institute Madrid Spain
| | - Ricardo Bruña Fernández
- Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience Center for Biomedical Technology (CTB) Madrid Spain
- Department of Experimental Psychology Universidad Complutense de Madrid Madrid Spain
- Networking Research Center on Bioengineering Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER‐BBN) Madrid Spain
| | | | - Isabel Domínguez Centeno
- 12 de Octubre Biomedical Research Institute Madrid Spain
- Psychology Department, Health Science Faculty Camilo José Cela University Madrid Spain
| | - Angel Torrado‐Carvajal
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging Department of Radiology Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School Boston MA USA
- Medical Image Analysis and Biometry Laboratory Universidad Rey Juan Carlos Madrid Spain
| | - Gabriel Rubio
- 12 de Octubre Biomedical Research Institute Madrid Spain
- 12 de Octubre Hospital Madrid Spain
- Medicine Faculty Complutense de Madrid University Madrid Spain
- Addictive Disorders Network (Red de Trastornos adictivos, RETIS) Carlos III Institute Madrid Spain
| | - Ernesto Pereda
- Laboratory of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience Center for Biomedical Technology (CTB) Madrid Spain
- Department of Industrial Engineering & IUNE Universidad de la Laguna San Cristóbal de La Laguna Spain
| | - Rosa Jurado‐Barba
- 12 de Octubre Biomedical Research Institute Madrid Spain
- Psychology Department, Health Science Faculty Camilo José Cela University Madrid Spain
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Sánchez de Ribera O, Kavish N, Katz IM, Boutwell BB. Untangling Intelligence, Psychopathy, Antisocial Personality Disorder, and Conduct Problems: A Meta–Analytic Review. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/per.2207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Substantial research has investigated the association between intelligence and psychopathic traits. The findings to date have been inconsistent and have not always considered the multidimensional nature of psychopathic traits. Moreover, there has been a tendency to confuse psychopathy with other closely related, clinically significant disorders. The current study represents a meta–analysis conducted to evaluate the direction and magnitude of the association of intelligence with global psychopathy, as well as its factors and facets, and related disorders (i.e. antisocial personality disorder, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder). Our analyses revealed a small, significant, negative relationship between intelligence and total psychopathy ( r = −.07, p = .001). Analysis of factors and facets found differential associations, including both significant positive (e.g. interpersonal facet) and negative (e.g. affective facet) associations, further affirming that psychopathy is a multidimensional construct. Additionally, intelligence was negatively associated with antisocial personality disorder ( r = −.13, p = .001) and conduct disorder ( r = −.13, p = .001) but positively with oppositional defiant disorder ( r = .06, p = .001). There was significant heterogeneity across studies for most effects, but the results of moderator analyses were inconsistent. Finally, bias analyses did not find significant evidence for publication bias or outsized effects of outliers. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nicholas Kavish
- Department of Psychology and Philosophy, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX USA
| | - Ian M. Katz
- Department of Psychology, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO USA
| | - Brian B. Boutwell
- Criminology and Criminal Justice, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics (secondary appointment), College for Public Health and Social Justice, Family and Community Medicine, School of Medicine (secondary appointment), Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO USA
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9
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Sawyer KS, Maleki N, Urban T, Marinkovic K, Karson S, Ruiz SM, Harris GJ, Oscar-Berman M. Alcoholism gender differences in brain responsivity to emotional stimuli. eLife 2019; 8:e41723. [PMID: 31038125 PMCID: PMC6491039 DOI: 10.7554/elife.41723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2018] [Accepted: 03/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Men and women may use alcohol to regulate emotions differently, with corresponding differences in neural responses. We explored how the viewing of different types of emotionally salient stimuli impacted brain activity observed through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) from 42 long-term abstinent alcoholic (25 women) and 46 nonalcoholic (24 women) participants. Analyses revealed blunted brain responsivity in alcoholic compared to nonalcoholic groups, as well as gender differences in those activation patterns. Brain activation in alcoholic men (ALCM) was significantly lower than in nonalcoholic men (NCM) in regions including rostral middle and superior frontal cortex, precentral gyrus, and inferior parietal cortex, whereas activation was higher in alcoholic women (ALCW) than in nonalcoholic women (NCW) in superior frontal and supramarginal cortical regions. The reduced brain reactivity of ALCM, and increases for ALCW, highlighted divergent brain regions and gender effects, suggesting possible differences in the underlying basis for development of alcohol use disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayle S Sawyer
- Psychology Research ServiceVA Healthcare SystemBostonUnited States
- Department of Anatomy and NeurobiologyBoston University School of MedicineBostonUnited States
- Department of RadiologyMassachusetts General HospitalBostonUnited States
- Sawyer Scientific, LLCBostonUnited States
| | - Nasim Maleki
- Psychology Research ServiceVA Healthcare SystemBostonUnited States
- Department of PsychiatryMassachusetts General HospitalBostonUnited States
| | - Trinity Urban
- Department of RadiologyMassachusetts General HospitalBostonUnited States
| | - Ksenija Marinkovic
- Department of PsychologySan Diego State UniversitySan DiegoUnited States
| | - Steven Karson
- Department of Computer ScienceDartmouth CollegeHanoverUnited States
| | - Susan M Ruiz
- Department of Anatomy and NeurobiologyBoston University School of MedicineBostonUnited States
| | - Gordon J Harris
- Department of RadiologyMassachusetts General HospitalBostonUnited States
- 3D Imaging ServiceMassachusetts General HospitalBostonUnited States
| | - Marlene Oscar-Berman
- Department of Anatomy and NeurobiologyBoston University School of MedicineBostonUnited States
- Department of PsychiatryBoston University School of MedicineBostonUnited States
- Department of NeurologyBoston University School of MedicineBostonUnited States
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10
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Cerebral white matter sex dimorphism in alcoholism: a diffusion tensor imaging study. Neuropsychopharmacology 2018; 43:1876-1883. [PMID: 29795404 PMCID: PMC6046037 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-018-0089-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2017] [Revised: 03/23/2018] [Accepted: 05/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with brain aberrations, including abnormalities in frontal and limbic brain regions. In a prior diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) study of neuronal circuitry connecting the frontal lobes and limbic system structures, we demonstrated decreases in white matter fractional anisotropy in abstinent alcoholic men. In the present study, we examined sex differences in alcoholism-related abnormalities of white matter connectivity and their association with alcoholism history. The dMRI scans were acquired from 49 abstinent alcoholic individuals (26 women) and 41 nonalcoholic controls (22 women). Tract-based spatial statistical tools were used to estimate regional FA of white matter tracts and to determine sex differences and their relation to measures of alcoholism history. Sex-related differences in white matter connectivity were observed in association with alcoholism: Compared to nonalcoholic men, alcoholic men had diminished FA in portions of the corpus callosum, the superior longitudinal fasciculi II and III, and the arcuate fasciculus and extreme capsule. In contrast, alcoholic women had higher FA in these regions. Sex differences also were observed for correlations between corpus callosum FA and length of sobriety. Our results suggest that sexual dimorphism in white matter microstructure in abstinent alcoholics may implicate underlying differences in the neurobehavioral liabilities for developing alcohol abuse disorders, or for sequelae following abuse.
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11
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Mosher Ruiz S, Oscar-Berman M, Kemppainen MI, Valmas MM, Sawyer KS. Associations Between Personality and Drinking Motives Among Abstinent Adult Alcoholic Men and Women. Alcohol Alcohol 2018; 52:496-505. [PMID: 28379312 DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agx016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2017] [Accepted: 03/07/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Aims Men and women differ in personality characteristics and may be motivated to use alcohol for different reasons. The goals of the present study were to characterize personality and drinking motives by gender and alcoholism status in adults, and to determine how alcoholism history and gender are related to the associations between personality traits and drinking motivation. Methods Personality characteristics were assessed with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, which includes Extraversion, Neuroticism, Psychoticism and Lie (Social Conforming) scales. To evaluate drinking motivation, we asked abstinent long-term alcoholic men and women, and demographically similar nonalcoholic participants to complete the Drinking Motives Questionnaire, which includes Conformity, Coping, Social and Enhancement scales. Results Patterns of personality scale scores and drinking motives differed by alcoholism status, with alcoholics showing higher psychopathology and stronger motives for drinking compared with controls. Divergent gender-specific relationships between personality and drinking motives also were identified, which differed for alcoholics and controls. Conclusion Alcoholic and control men and women differed with respect to the associations between personality traits and motives for drinking. A better understanding of how different personality traits affect drinking motivations for alcoholic men and women can inform individualized relapse prevention strategies. Short Summary Men and women differed in their personality traits and their motivations for drinking, and these relationships differed for abstinent alcoholic and control groups. Additionally, alcoholics scored higher on Neuroticism and Psychoticism personality traits, and had lower Enhancement and Social Conformity drinking motives than nonalcoholic controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan Mosher Ruiz
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA.,VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA
| | - Marlene Oscar-Berman
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA.,VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA.,Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - Maaria I Kemppainen
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA.,VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA
| | - Mary M Valmas
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA.,VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA
| | - Kayle S Sawyer
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA.,VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA
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12
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Klenowski PM. Emerging role for the medial prefrontal cortex in alcohol-seeking behaviors. Addict Behav 2018; 77:102-106. [PMID: 28992574 DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2017.09.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2017] [Revised: 09/01/2017] [Accepted: 09/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays an important role in high-order executive processes and sends highly organized projections to sub-cortical regions controlling mood, motivation and impulsivity. Recent preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated alcohol-induced effects on the activity and composition of the PFC which are implicated in associative learning processes and may disrupt executive control over impulsivity, leading to an inability to self-limit alcohol intake. Animal studies have begun to dissect the role of the mPFC circuitry in alcohol-seeking behavior and withdrawal, and have identified a key role for projections to sub-cortical sites including the extended amygdala and the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Importantly, these studies have highlighted that alcohol can have contrasting effects on the mPFC compared to other addictive substances and also produce differential effects on the structure and activity of the mPFC following short-term versus long-term consumption. Because of these differences, how the mPFC influences the initial aspects of alcohol-seeking behavior and how we can better understand the long-term effects of alcohol use on the activity and connectivity of the mPFC need to be considered. Given the lack of preclinical data from long-term drinking models, an increased focus should be directed towards identifying how long-term alcohol use changes the mPFC, in order to provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying the transition to dependence.
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13
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Le Berre AP, Fama R, Sullivan EV. Executive Functions, Memory, and Social Cognitive Deficits and Recovery in Chronic Alcoholism: A Critical Review to Inform Future Research. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2017; 41:1432-1443. [PMID: 28618018 PMCID: PMC5531758 DOI: 10.1111/acer.13431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 213] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2016] [Accepted: 06/04/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Alcoholism is a complex and dynamic disease, punctuated by periods of abstinence and relapse, and influenced by a multitude of vulnerability factors. Chronic excessive alcohol consumption is associated with cognitive deficits, ranging from mild to severe, in executive functions, memory, and metacognitive abilities, with associated impairment in emotional processes and social cognition. These deficits can compromise efforts in initiating and sustaining abstinence by hampering efficacy of clinical treatment and can obstruct efforts in enabling good decision making success in interpersonal/social interactions, and awareness of cognitive and behavioral dysfunctions. Despite evidence for differences in recovery levels of selective cognitive processes, certain deficits can persist even with prolonged sobriety. Herein is presented a review of alcohol-related cognitive impairments affecting component processes of executive functioning, memory, and the recently investigated cognitive domains of metamemory, social cognition, and emotional processing; also considered are trajectories of cognitive recovery with abstinence. Finally, in the spirit of critical review, limitations of current knowledge are noted and avenues for new research efforts are proposed that focus on (i) the interaction among emotion-cognition processes and identification of vulnerability factors contributing to the development of emotional and social processing deficits and (ii) the time line of cognitive recovery by tracking alcoholism's dynamic course of sobriety and relapse. Knowledge about the heterochronicity of cognitive recovery in alcoholism has the potential of indicating at which points during recovery intervention may be most beneficial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Pascale Le Berre
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Rosemary Fama
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
| | - Edith V. Sullivan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
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Brion M, D'Hondt F, Pitel AL, Lecomte B, Ferauge M, de Timary P, Maurage P. Executive functions in alcohol-dependence: A theoretically grounded and integrative exploration. Drug Alcohol Depend 2017; 177:39-47. [PMID: 28554151 DOI: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.03.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2016] [Revised: 02/13/2017] [Accepted: 03/10/2017] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alcohol-dependence is related to large-scale cognitive impairments, particularly for executive functions (EF). These deficits persist even after long-term abstinence and have a major impact on patients' everyday life and relapse risk. Earlier studies, based on multi-determined tasks, mostly focused on inhibition and did not offer a theoretically-grounded and exhaustive view of the differential deficit across EF. The present paper proposes a model-based exploration of EF in alcohol-dependent individuals (ALC), to precisely compare the specific deficit related to each executive subcomponent. METHODS Forty-seven recently detoxified ALC were compared to 47 matched healthy participants on a nine-tasks validated neuropsychological battery, simultaneously exploring and comparing the three main executive subcomponents (shifting, updating, and inhibition). Psychopathological comorbidities were also controlled for. RESULTS Reaction time indexes revealed a global slowing down among ALC, whatever the EF explored. Accuracy indexes revealed a moderate deficit for inhibition tasks but a massive impairment for shifting and updating ones. Complementary analyses indicated that the executive deficits observed were centrally related to alcohol-dependence, while comorbid depressive symptoms appeared to intensify the deficits observed. CONCLUSIONS By offering a direct comparison between the three major EF, these results showed that alcohol-related executive deficits extend beyond the classically described inhibition impairment. This impairment encompasses each EF subcomponent, as ALC actually presented stronger deficits for updating and shifting abilities. This first observation of a multifaceted EF deficit stresses the need for an individualized evaluation and rehabilitation of EF during and/or after the detoxification process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélanie Brion
- Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain,10 Place C. Mercier, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Fabien D'Hondt
- Univ. Lille, CNRS UMR 9193 - SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, psyCHIC team,1 Place de Verdun, F-59045 Lille, France; CHU Lille, Clinique de Psychiatrie, CURE, F-59000, Lille, France
| | - Anne-Lise Pitel
- INSERM, École Pratique des Hautes Études, Université de Caen-Normandie, Unité U1077, GIP Cyceron, CHU Caen, F-14000 Caen, France
| | - Benoît Lecomte
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Saint-Martin Hospital, 84 rue Saint-Hubert, B-5100 Dave, Belgium
| | - Marc Ferauge
- Department of Addiction Rehabilitation, Beau-Vallon Hospital, 205 rue de Bricgniot, B-5002 Saint-Servais, Belgium
| | - Philippe de Timary
- Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain,10 Place C. Mercier, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; Department of Adult Psychiatry, St Luc Hospital and Institute of Neuroscience, Université catholique de Louvain,10 Avenue Hippocrate, B-1200 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Pierre Maurage
- Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Université catholique de Louvain,10 Place C. Mercier, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
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Sawyer KS, Oscar-Berman M, Ruiz SM, Gálvez DA, Makris N, Harris GJ, Valera EM. Associations Between Cerebellar Subregional Morphometry and Alcoholism History in Men and Women. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2016; 40:1262-72. [PMID: 27130832 PMCID: PMC4889497 DOI: 10.1111/acer.13074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2015] [Accepted: 03/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alcoholism has been linked to deficits in cognitive, behavioral, and emotional functions, and the cerebellum is important for optimal functioning of these abilities. However, little is known about how individual differences such as gender and drinking history might influence regional cerebellar abnormalities. METHODS Volumetric analyses of the cerebellum and its subregions were performed in relation to the interaction of gender and measures of drinking history. Structural magnetic resonance imaging scans of 44 alcoholic individuals (23 men) and 39 nonalcoholic controls (18 men) were obtained. In addition to measuring total cerebellar gray and white matter volumes, we measured 64 individual cerebellar parcellation units, as well as functionally defined a priori regions of interest that have been shown to correspond to functions impaired in alcoholism. RESULTS Total cerebellar white matter volume was smaller in alcoholic relative to nonalcoholic participants. Moreover, volumes of parcellation units varied with drinking history, showing negative associations between years of heavy drinking and the anterior lobe, the vestibulocerebellar lobe, and the spinocerebellar subdivision. The negative association between anterior volume and years of heavy drinking was driven primarily by alcoholic men. Additionally, we observed larger white and gray matter volumes for alcoholic women than for alcoholic men. CONCLUSIONS The identification of drinking-related abnormalities in cerebellar subregions lays a foundation that can be utilized to inform how cerebro-cerebellar networks are perturbed in this pathological condition. These results also provide estimates of how gender and individual differences in drinking history can predict cerebellar volumes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayle S. Sawyer
- Ph.D. Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Graduate Medical Sciences, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Marlene Oscar-Berman
- Ph.D. Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Graduate Medical Sciences, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118
| | - Susan Mosher Ruiz
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118
| | - Daniel A. Gálvez
- College of Arts and Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215
| | - Nikos Makris
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
- Center for Morphometric Analysis, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
- Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Gordon J. Harris
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
- Radiology Computer Aided Diagnostics Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
- Harvard Medical School Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Eve M. Valera
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
- Harvard Medical School Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
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Abstract
We review our clinical studies of psychiatric comorbidity in short-term and long-term abstinent and in treatment naïve alcoholics (STAA, LTAA and TNA). TNA ypically have less severe alcoholism than treated abstinent samples and evidence less severe psychiatric disturbance. Lifetime psychiatric diagnoses are the norm for STAA and LTAA but not for TNA. Individuals with alcohol and drug use disorders show greater antisocial personality disturbance, but do not show differences in the mood or anxiety domains or in borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms. The studies show that alcoholics can achieve and maintain abstinence in the face of ongoing mood, anxiety, or BPD problems. By contrast, for ASPD, LTAA essentially stop current antisocial behaviors in all seven domains of antisocial behaviors. We believe that ongoing antisocial behavior is not consistent with maintaining abstinence, and that LTAA modify their antisocial behavior despite continued elevated social deviance proneness and antisocial dispositionality. Abstinent individuals without lifetime psychiatric disorders and TNA show more (subdiagnostic threshold) psychiatric symptoms and abnormal psychological measures than non-alcoholic controls in the mood, anxiety, BPD, and antisocial domains. In summary, our studies show that although LTAA have achieved multi-year abstinence, they still report significant psychological distress compared to NAC. We believe this distress may negatively affect their quality of life. This suggests the importance of developing effective care models to address comorbid mental health problems in LTAA. We also show that antisocial personality disorder symptoms decline to the levels seen in normal controls, and that excluding individuals from research with a psychiatric diagnosis does not control for subdiagnostic psychiatric differences between alcoholics and controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Fein
- Neurobehavioral Research, Inc., 840 Alua St., Suite 203, Wailuku, HI, 96793, USA.
- Department of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA.
- Department of Psychology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, 96822, USA.
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17
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Valmas MM, Mosher Ruiz S, Gansler DA, Sawyer KS, Oscar-Berman M. Social cognition deficits and associations with drinking history in alcoholic men and women. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2015; 38:2998-3007. [PMID: 25581654 DOI: 10.1111/acer.12566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2013] [Accepted: 09/06/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous studies have demonstrated the presence of a social cognition factor as an element of general cognition in healthy control and clinical populations. Recently developed measures of social cognition include the social perception and faces subtests of the Wechsler Advanced Clinical Solutions (ACS) Social Cognition module. While these measures have been validated on various clinical samples, they have not been studied in alcoholics. Alcoholism has been associated with emotional abnormalities and diminished social cognitive functioning as well as neuropathology of brain areas underlying social processing abilities. We used the ACS Social Perception and Faces subtests to assess alcoholism-related impairments in social cognition. METHODS Social cognitive functioning was assessed in 77 abstinent alcoholic individuals (37 women) and 59 nonalcoholic control participants (29 women), using measures of the ACS Social Cognition module and subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) that contain a social cognition component (Picture Completion and Comprehension). Group and gender differences in ACS and WAIS-IV performance were assessed, as well as relationships between measures of alcoholism severity and social cognitive functioning. RESULTS Alcoholics performed significantly worse than nonalcoholics on the ACS measures of Affect Naming and Faces Content. Alcoholic men were impaired relative to alcoholic women on Prosody Face Matching and Faces Content scores. Among alcoholics, longer durations of heavy drinking were associated with poorer performance on Affect Naming, and a greater number of daily drinks were associated with lower Prosody Face Matching performance. For alcoholic women, a longer duration of abstinence was associated with better performance on Affect Naming. CONCLUSIONS Alcoholic men and women showed different patterns of associations between alcoholism indices and clinically validated social cognition assessments. These findings extend into the social cognition domain, previous literature demonstrating the presence of cognitive deficits in alcoholism, their association with alcoholism severity, and variability by gender. Moreover, because impairments in social cognition can persist despite extended abstinence, they have important implications for relapse prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary M Valmas
- Psychology Research Service , VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Psychology , Suffolk University, Boston, Massachusetts; Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology , Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts
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18
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Alterations of reward mechanisms in bulbectomised rats. Behav Brain Res 2015; 286:271-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2015.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2014] [Revised: 03/02/2015] [Accepted: 03/06/2015] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
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19
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Trick L, Kempton MJ, Williams SCR, Duka T. Impaired fear recognition and attentional set-shifting is associated with brain structural changes in alcoholic patients. Addict Biol 2014; 19:1041-54. [PMID: 25123156 PMCID: PMC4282104 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Alcoholic patients with multiple detoxifications/relapses show cognitive and emotional deficits. We performed structural magnetic resonance imaging and examined performance on a cognitive flexibility task (intra-extradimensional set shift and reversal; IED). We also presented subjects with fearful, disgust and anger facial emotional expressions. Participants were abstaining, multiply detoxified (MDTx; n = 12) or singly detoxified patients (SDTx; n = 17) and social drinker controls (n = 31). Alcoholic patients were less able than controls to change their behavior in accordance with the changing of the rules in the IED and they were less accurate in recognizing fearful expressions in particular. They also showed lower gray matter volume compared with controls in frontal brain areas, including inferior frontal cortex (IFC) and insula that mediate emotional processing, inferior parietal lobule and medial frontal cortex that mediate attentional and motor planning processes, respectively. Impairments in performance and some of the regional decreases in gray matter were greater in MDTx. Gray matter volume in IFC in patients was negatively correlated with the number of detoxifications, whereas inferior parietal lobule was negatively correlated with the control over drinking score (impaired control over drinking questionnaire). Performance in IED was also negatively correlated with gray matter volume in IFC/BA47, whereas recognition of fearful faces was positively correlated with the IFC gray matter. Repeated episodes of detoxification from alcohol, related to severity of dependency, are coupled with altered brain structure in areas of emotional regulation, attention and motor planning. Such changes may confer increased inability to switch behavior according to environmental demands and social incompetence, contributing to relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matthew J. Kempton
- Department of Neuroimaging; Institute of Psychiatry; King's College London; UK
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20
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Oscar-Berman M, Valmas MM, Sawyer KS, Ruiz SM, Luhar RB, Gravitz ZR. Profiles of impaired, spared, and recovered neuropsychologic processes in alcoholism. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2014; 125:183-210. [PMID: 25307576 PMCID: PMC4515358 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-62619-6.00012-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Long-term chronic alcoholism is associated with disparate and widespread residual consequences for brain functioning and behavior, and alcoholics suffer a variety of cognitive deficiencies and emotional abnormalities. Alcoholism has heterogeneous origins and outcomes, depending upon factors such as family history, age, gender, and mental or physical health. Consequently, the neuropsychologic profiles associated with alcoholism are not uniform among individuals. Moreover, within and across research studies, variability among subjects is substantial and contributes to characteristics associated with differential treatment outcomes after detoxification. In order to refine our understanding of alcoholism-related impaired, spared, and recovered abilities, we focus on five specific functional domains: (1) memory; (2) executive functions; (3) emotion and psychosocial skills; (4) visuospatial cognition; and (5) psychomotor abilities. Although the entire brain might be vulnerable in uncomplicated alcoholism, the brain systems that are considered to be most at risk are the frontocerebellar and mesocorticolimbic circuitries. Over time, with abstinence from alcohol, the brain appears to become reorganized to provide compensation for structural and behavioral deficits. By relying on a combination of clinical and scientific approaches, future research will help to refine the compensatory roles of healthy brain systems, the degree to which abstinence and treatment facilitate the reversal of brain atrophy and dysfunction, and the importance of individual differences to outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marlene Oscar-Berman
- Boston University School of Medicine, L-815, 72 E. Newton St., Boston, MA 02118; ; telephone 617-638-4803
| | - Mary M. Valmas
- Boston University School of Medicine, L-815, 72 E. Newton St., Boston, MA 02118; ; telephone 617-638-4803
| | - Kayle S. Sawyer
- Boston University School of Medicine, L-815, 72 E. Newton St., Boston, MA 02118; ; telephone 617-638-4803
| | - Susan Mosher Ruiz
- Boston University School of Medicine, L-815, 72 E. Newton St., Boston, MA 02118; ; telephone 617-638-4803
| | - Riya B. Luhar
- Boston University School of Medicine, L-815, 72 E. Newton St., Boston, MA 02118; ; telephone 617-638-4803
| | - Zoe R. Gravitz
- Boston University School of Medicine, L-815, 72 E. Newton St., Boston, MA 02118; ; telephone 617-638-4803
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21
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Ming-Tak Chung D, Jerram MW, Lee JK, Katz H, Gansler DA. Convergence and divergence of neuroanatomic correlates and executive task performance in healthy controls and psychiatric participants. Psychiatry Res 2013; 214:221-8. [PMID: 24148911 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2013.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2012] [Revised: 07/09/2013] [Accepted: 08/10/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The associations between brain matter volume in the cerebral cortex and set shifting and attentional control as operationalized by the Wisconsin Card Sort Test (WCST) and Condition Three of the Delis-Kaplan version of the Color Word Interference Test (CWIT) were investigated in 15 healthy controls and 16 heterogeneously diagnosed psychiatric patients with self-control problems using voxel based morphometry. Both groups underwent standardized magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological assessment. WCST and CWIT variables, and a composite, were regressed across the whole brain. Although CWIT performance levels were the same in both groups, neuroanatomic correlates for the psychiatric participants invoked the left hemisphere language system, but the bilateral dorsal attention system in the healthy controls. On its own, no neuroanatomic correlates were observed for the WCST. But when part of a composite with CWIT, neuroanatomic correlates in the dorsal attention system emerged for the psychiatric participants. Psychometric combinations of manifest executive task variables may best represent higher level latent neuro-cognitive control systems. Factor analytic studies of neuropsychological test performances suggest the constructs being measured are the same across psychiatric and non-diagnosed participants, however, imaging modalities indicate the relevant neural architecture can vary by group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis Ming-Tak Chung
- Department of Psychology, Suffolk University, 41 Temple Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA
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22
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Abstract
As the number of women who use alcohol increases, so does the number of women who engage in alcohol abuse and develop alcohol dependence. The recent increased focus on women and gender differences in alcoholism research has largely come about following recognition that the face of alcoholism is changing, with alcoholism rates among men remaining stable and rising among women, particularly in younger women. As such, the need to understand gender differences in both acute and long-term effects of alcohol abuse has never been more critical. Gender differences in the long-term effects of chronic alcoholism on the brain and other systems are currently under debate, often with a focus on proclaiming whether men or women suffer the most impact. However, the story appears to be more complex than that. The issue of how alcoholism interacts with gender is complicated, as gender differences in many factors including alcohol metabolism, alcoholism progression, problematic drinking patterns, neurobiology, hormones, and psychiatric comorbidities will contribute to the differences in structural and functional outcomes observed experimentally across domains of inquiry. While women are now much more commonly included in studies of alcohol’s effects on the brain, there remains a need for more explicit examinations of gender effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan Mosher Ruiz
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, USA; Psychology Research Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, USA
| | - Marlene Oscar-Berman
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, USA; Psychology Research Service, VA Boston Healthcare System, USA; Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Boston University School of Medicine, USA
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23
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Luhar RB, Sawyer KS, Gravitz Z, Ruiz SM, Oscar-Berman M. Brain volumes and neuropsychological performance are related to current smoking and alcoholism history. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat 2013; 9:1767-84. [PMID: 24273408 PMCID: PMC3836660 DOI: 10.2147/ndt.s52298] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dual dependence on alcohol and nicotine is common, with many reports suggesting that more than 80% of alcoholics also smoke cigarettes. Even after cessation of alcohol consumption, many recovering alcoholics continue to smoke. In this exploratory study, we examined how current smoking and a history of alcoholism interacted in relation to brain volumes and neuropsychological performance. METHODS Participants were 14 abstinent long-term alcoholics (seven current smokers and seven nonsmokers), and 13 nonalcoholics (six current smokers and seven nonsmokers). The groups were equivalent in age, gender, education, and intelligence quotient. Two multiecho magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition with gradient echo (MP-RAGE) scans were collected for all participants using a 3T magnetic resonance imaging scanner with a 32 channel head coil. Brain volumes for each gray and white matter region of interest were derived using FreeSurfer. Participants completed a battery of neuropsychological tests measuring intelligence quotient, memory, executive functions, personality variables, and affect. RESULTS COMPARED TO NONSMOKING NONALCOHOLICS, ALCOHOLICS WHO SMOKE (THE COMORBID GROUP) HAD VOLUMETRIC ABNORMALITIES IN: pre- and para-central frontal cortical areas and rostral middle frontal white matter; parahippocampal and temporal pole regions; the amygdala; the pallidum; the ventral diencephalic region; and the lateral ventricle. The comorbid group performed worse than nonsmoking nonalcoholics on tests of executive functioning and on visually-based memory tests. History of alcoholism was associated with higher neuroticism scores among smokers, and current smoking was associated with higher sensation seeking scores and lower extraversion scores among nonalcoholics. CONCLUSION Results from this exploratory study support and extend prior reports showing that alcoholism and smoking, alone and in combination, are associated with structural brain abnormalities and poorer performance on neuropsychological tests. Therefore, it is important to consider smoking status in alcoholism studies and vice versa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riya B Luhar
- US Department of Veterans Affairs, Boston Healthcare System, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA ; Boston University School of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
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24
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Gierski F, Hubsch B, Stefaniak N, Benzerouk F, Cuervo-Lombard C, Bera-Potelle C, Cohen R, Kahn JP, Limosin F. Executive functions in adult offspring of alcohol-dependent probands: toward a cognitive endophenotype? Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2012; 37 Suppl 1:E356-63. [PMID: 23240659 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2012.01903.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2011] [Accepted: 05/23/2012] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Executive function (EF) impairment in alcohol dependence (AD) has been related to the toxic effects of alcohol on frontal lobes. However, this impairment could be partially present before the onset of the disease and might constitute a vulnerability factor. Although a considerable body of research has investigated executive functioning among AD patients, much less attention has been directed toward high-risk individuals. Most studies were carried out among children or adolescents, and very few were conducted in adults. The aim of this study was to examine EF in a group of adult offspring of AD individuals. METHODS One hundred and fifty-five nonalcoholic adults with (family history positive [FHP]) or without (family history negative [FHN]) family history of AD were included in the study. All participants were screened for past and current psychiatric diagnoses, and alcohol, tobacco, and other substance use. They were compared on self-rated impulsiveness using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11) and EF using a neuropsychological test battery. RESULTS Group comparison revealed that FHP participants had significantly higher BIS-11 scores than the FHN participants, while neuropsychological examination revealed lower EF scores for FHP participants. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the number of AD family members was a predictor of EF results, whereas impulsiveness was not. CONCLUSIONS Nonalcoholic adult offspring of AD individuals showed increased impulsiveness and decreased EF, suggesting weakness of 2 distinct neurobehavioral decision systems. Findings support evidence that EF weaknesses may qualify as a suitable endophenotype candidate for AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabien Gierski
- Department of Psychiatry, Reims University Hospital, Reims, France.
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25
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Li D, Zhao H, Kranzler HR, Oslin D, Anton RF, Farrer LA, Gelernter J. Association of COL25A1 with comorbid antisocial personality disorder and substance dependence. Biol Psychiatry 2012; 71:733-40. [PMID: 22297151 PMCID: PMC3548659 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2011.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2011] [Revised: 12/12/2011] [Accepted: 12/13/2011] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by a long-term pattern of manipulating, exploiting, or violating the rights of others. METHODS Subjects ascertained for genetic studies of substance dependence (SD) and diagnosed with ASPD and comorbid SD were included in a two-stage genetic association study. In the discovery stage, 627 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in 179 candidate genes for addiction were analyzed in a case-control cohort and family-based cohort. The significant findings were replicated in an independent case-control cohort. RESULTS One SNP, rs13134663, in the collagen XXV alpha 1 gene (COL25A1) was significantly associated with ASPD in both African Americans and European Americans (smallest p values were .0002 and .0004, respectively). There was also evidence of association with the same SNP in independent samples of African American and European American cases and control subjects (p = .035 and .033, respectively). Analysis of the combined set of case-control subjects yielded an allelic p value of 9 × 10(-6) with odds ratio (95% confidence interval) of 1.3 (1.16, 1.47) (smallest p = 1 × 10(-7); Bonferroni threshold p = .00012). CONCLUSIONS The COL25A1 gene, located at chromosome 4q25, encodes the collagen-like Alzheimer amyloid plaque component precursor, a type II transmembrane protein specifically expressed in neurons; it co-localizes with amyloid β in senile plaques in Alzheimer disease brains. This SNP maps to the transcription factor binding site and is conserved in 17 vertebrates, including mice and rats. Our findings suggest that COL25A1 may be associated with ASPD, especially in the context of SD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dawei Li
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Hongyu Zhao
- Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut,Department of Genetics, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Henry R. Kranzler
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,VISN 4 MIRECC, Philadelphia VAMC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - David Oslin
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,VISN 4 MIRECC, Philadelphia VAMC, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Raymond F Anton
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina
| | - Lindsay A Farrer
- Departments of Medicine (Biomedical Genetics), Neurology, Ophthalmology, Genetics & Genomics, Biostatistics, and Epidemiology, Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Joel Gelernter
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut,Department of Genetics, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut,VA Connecticut Healthcare Center, West Haven, Connecticut,Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut,To whom correspondence should be addressed: Joel Gelernter, Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, VA CT Healthcare Center, 950 Campbell Avenue, 116A2, West Haven, CT 06516.
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26
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A twin study of spatial and non-spatial delayed response performance in middle age. Brain Cogn 2011; 76:43-51. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2011.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2008] [Revised: 02/25/2011] [Accepted: 03/13/2011] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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27
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Pompili M, Serafini G, Innamorati M, Dominici G, Ferracuti S, Kotzalidis GD, Serra G, Girardi P, Janiri L, Tatarelli R, Sher L, Lester D. Suicidal behavior and alcohol abuse. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2010; 7:1392-431. [PMID: 20617037 PMCID: PMC2872355 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph7041392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 221] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2010] [Revised: 03/15/2010] [Accepted: 03/19/2010] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Suicide is an escalating public health problem, and alcohol use has consistently been implicated in the precipitation of suicidal behavior. Alcohol abuse may lead to suicidality through disinhibition, impulsiveness and impaired judgment, but it may also be used as a means to ease the distress associated with committing an act of suicide. We reviewed evidence of the relationship between alcohol use and suicide through a search of MedLine and PsychInfo electronic databases. Multiple genetically-related intermediate phenotypes might influence the relationship between alcohol and suicide. Psychiatric disorders, including psychosis, mood disorders and anxiety disorders, as well as susceptibility to stress, might increase the risk of suicidal behavior, but may also have reciprocal influences with alcohol drinking patterns. Increased suicide risk may be heralded by social withdrawal, breakdown of social bonds, and social marginalization, which are common outcomes of untreated alcohol abuse and dependence. People with alcohol dependence or depression should be screened for other psychiatric symptoms and for suicidality. Programs for suicide prevention must take into account drinking habits and should reinforce healthy behavioral patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maurizio Pompili
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Functions, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00189, Italy; E-Mails:
(G.S.);
(M.I.);
(G.D.);
(S.F.);
(G.D.K.);
(G.S.);
(P.G.);
(R.T.)
- McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA 02478, USA
- Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail:
or
; Tel. +39-06 33775675; Fax +39-0633775342
| | - Gianluca Serafini
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Functions, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00189, Italy; E-Mails:
(G.S.);
(M.I.);
(G.D.);
(S.F.);
(G.D.K.);
(G.S.);
(P.G.);
(R.T.)
| | - Marco Innamorati
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Functions, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00189, Italy; E-Mails:
(G.S.);
(M.I.);
(G.D.);
(S.F.);
(G.D.K.);
(G.S.);
(P.G.);
(R.T.)
| | - Giovanni Dominici
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Functions, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00189, Italy; E-Mails:
(G.S.);
(M.I.);
(G.D.);
(S.F.);
(G.D.K.);
(G.S.);
(P.G.);
(R.T.)
| | - Stefano Ferracuti
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Functions, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00189, Italy; E-Mails:
(G.S.);
(M.I.);
(G.D.);
(S.F.);
(G.D.K.);
(G.S.);
(P.G.);
(R.T.)
| | - Giorgio D. Kotzalidis
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Functions, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00189, Italy; E-Mails:
(G.S.);
(M.I.);
(G.D.);
(S.F.);
(G.D.K.);
(G.S.);
(P.G.);
(R.T.)
| | - Giulia Serra
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Functions, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00189, Italy; E-Mails:
(G.S.);
(M.I.);
(G.D.);
(S.F.);
(G.D.K.);
(G.S.);
(P.G.);
(R.T.)
| | - Paolo Girardi
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Functions, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00189, Italy; E-Mails:
(G.S.);
(M.I.);
(G.D.);
(S.F.);
(G.D.K.);
(G.S.);
(P.G.);
(R.T.)
| | - Luigi Janiri
- Department of Psychiatry, Catholic University Medical School, Largo F. Vito 1, Rome 00168, Italy; E-Mail:
| | - Roberto Tatarelli
- Department of Neuroscience, Mental Health and Sensory Functions, Suicide Prevention Center, Sant’Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00189, Italy; E-Mails:
(G.S.);
(M.I.);
(G.D.);
(S.F.);
(G.D.K.);
(G.S.);
(P.G.);
(R.T.)
| | - Leo Sher
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; E-Mail:
| | - David Lester
- The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Pomona, NJ 08240-0195, USA; E-Mail:
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