Age- and alcohol-related differences in adolescent neurometabolite levels.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Adolescence is a critical period for neurometabolite maturation as well as the initiation of alcohol use. However, despite its importance for long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes, the impact of alcohol use during adolescence on neurometabolites remains understudied.

Methods

We conducted an exploratory study using 3T proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) to examine age- and alcohol-related associations with six neurometabolites in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) that are involved in key neural functions: glutamate + glutamine (Glx), GABA plus macromolecules (GABA+), total N-acetylaspartate (tNAA), total choline (tCho), total creatine (tCr), and myo-inositol (mI). Participants were 84 adolescents (ages 17-22; 67% female) with moderate-to-high

SUBMITTER: Perica MI 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12907621 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature