• Jeonghwan Lee, Sung-Jin Im, Sang-Gu Lee, Alfreda Stadlin, Jung-Woo Son, Chul-Jin Shin, Gawon Ju, Sang-Ick Lee, and Siekyeong Kim.
• Department of Psychiatry, Chungbuk National University College of Medicine, Cheongju, South Korea.
• Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging. 2016 Dec 30; 258: 16-22.

AbstractAlcohol-induced hippocampal atrophy has been well documented in many studies and is known to affect various subfields. Given the functional heterogeneity of these subfields, we investigated the precise effects of alcohol-induced damage in these areas. Twenty-six male patients with alcohol dependence (alcohol group) and twenty-six age-matched male healthy social drinkers were recruited from a mental health hospital and the community respectively, with the aim of comparing the hippocampal subfields between groups. Each participant underwent a 3T MRI scan. Hippocampal subfield volumes were estimated using an automated procedure and drinking history recorded using Lifetime Drinking History, Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, and the Brief Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test. The alcohol group showed a lower total hippocampus volume, specifically in the left presubiculum, fimbria, and bilateral subiculum. Regression analysis assessing the influence of age and group showed that group was a more significant factor than age in most subfields. Our findings suggest that alcohol dependence alters hippocampal subfield volumes. Further longitudinal studies on the interaction of structural and neurocognitive changes would improve our understanding of brain structural changes resulting from long-term alcohol consumption.Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

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