Shared genetic factors influence amygdala volumes and risk for alcoholism.

ABSTRACT: Alcohol abuse and dependence (alcohol use disorders, AUDs) are associated with brain shrinkage. Subcortical structures including the amygdala, hippocampus, ventral striatum, dorsal striatum, and thalamus subserve reward functioning and may be particularly vulnerable to alcohol-related damage. These structures may also show pre-existing deficits impacting the development and maintenance of AUD. It remains unclear whether there are common genetic features underlying both subcortical volumes and AUD. In this study, structural brain images were acquired from 872 Mexican-American individuals from extended pedigrees. Subcortical volumes were obtained using FreeSurfer, and quantitative genetic analyses were performed in SOLAR. We hypothesized the following: (1) reduced subcortical volumes in indi

SUBMITTER: Dager AD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4443955 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature