Alcohol and Alcoholism Advance Access originally published online on January 24, 2005
Alcohol and Alcoholism 2005 40(3):194-200; doi:10.1093/alcalc/agh134
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GENDER AND ADOLESCENT ALCOHOL USE DISORDERS ON BOLD (BLOOD OXYGEN LEVEL DEPENDENT) RESPONSE TO SPATIAL WORKING MEMORY
1 Veterans Medical Research Foundation, 2 Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, 3 Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego and 4 VA San Diego Healthcare System, CA, USA
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed at: VA San Diego Healthcare System, 3350 La Jolla Village Drive (151B), San Diego, CA 92161, USA. Tel.: +1 858 552 8585 (ext. 2599); Fax: +1 858 642 6340; E-mail: stapert{at}ucsd.edu
(Received 18 October 2004; first review notified 22 November 2004; in revised form 24 November 2004; accepted 7 December 2004; Advance Access publication 24 January 2005)
Aims: To determine how alcohol use differentially affects brain functioning in male and female adolescents. Methods: Adolescents with alcohol use disorders (AUDs; 7 female, 11 male) and control adolescents without AUDs (9 female, 12 male), aged 1417 years, performed spatial working memory and vigilance tasks during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Results: Gender, AUD and their interaction were significantly associated with brain activation patterns to the tasks. There were interactions in the superior frontal, superior temporal, cingulate and fusiform regions, in which female and male adolescents with AUDs showed a different brain response from each other and control subjects. Overall, female adolescents with AUDs showed a greater departure from normal activation patterns than male adolescents with AUD. Conclusions: Adolescent alcohol involvement may affect male and female brains differently, and adolescent females may be somewhat more vulnerable to adverse alcohol effects. With continued drinking, these adolescents may be at an increased risk for behavioural deficits.