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Decreased white matter integrity in fronto-occipital fasciculus bundles: Relation to visual information processing in alcohol-dependent subjects
Authors:Deepika Bagga  Aakansha Sharma  Archana Kumari  Prabhjot Kaur  Debajyoti Bhattacharya  Mohan Lal Garg  Subash Khushu  Namita Singh
Institution:1. NMR Research Centre, Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), DRDO, Brig. S.K. Mazumdar Marg, Lucknow Road, Timarpur, Delhi 110054, India;2. Department of Psychiatry, Base Hospital, Delhi Cantt., Delhi 110010, India;3. Department of Biophysics, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160014, India
Abstract:Chronic alcohol abuse is characterized by impaired cognitive abilities with a more severe deficit in visual than in verbal functions. Neuropathologically, it is associated with widespread brain structural compromise marked by gray matter shrinkage, ventricular enlargement, and white matter degradation. The present study sought to increase current understanding of the impairment of visual processing abilities in alcohol-dependent subjects, and its correlation with white matter microstructural alterations, using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). To that end, a DTI study was carried out on 35 alcohol-dependent subjects and 30 healthy male control subjects. Neuropsychological tests were assessed for visual processing skills and deficits were reported as raw dysfunction scores (rDyS). Reduced FA (fractional anisotropy) and increased MD (mean diffusivity) were observed bilaterally in inferior and superior fronto-occipital fasciculus (FOF) fiber bundles. A significant inverse correlation in rDyS and FA values was observed in these fiber tracts whereas a positive correlation of these scores was found with the MD values. Our results suggest that FOF fiber bundles linking the frontal lobe to occipital lobe might be related to visual processing skills. This is the first report of an alteration of the white matter microstructure of FOF fiber bundles that might have functional consequences for visual processing in alcohol-dependent subjects who exhibit no neurological complications.
Keywords:Fronto-occipital fasciculus  Alcoholism  Brain  Diffusion tensor imaging  Fractional anisotropy  Mean diffusivity
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