We first examined the effects of alcoholism on cerebral white matter volumes by lobar and gyral subdivisions in 42 abstinent alcoholics and 42 control participants (split evenly by gender). We also examined cerebellar white matter and regions of the corpus callosum, as well as ventricular volumes. Next, relationships between white matter and ventricular volumes with measures of drinking patterns were assessed. Finally, an examination of early versus late abstinence was conducted. Within each examination, gender effects were explored.

Differences in regional white matter volumes between alcoholics and controls were observed primarily in the corpus callosum, with a stronger group difference among men than women. Years of heavy drinking had a strong negative impact on frontal and temporal white matter among alcoholic women, and on the corpus callosum among alcoholic men. Quantity of alcohol consumption was associated with smaller corpus callosum and larger ventricular volumes among alcoholic women, whereas abstinence duration was associated with larger corpus callosum volume among alcoholic men. Preliminary data indicated that alcoholic women showed stronger positive associations between sobriety duration and white matter volume than men within the first year of abstinence, whereas men showed this association more so than women after 1 year of abstinence.

Effects of drinking history on white matter and ventricular volumes vary by gender, with alcoholic women showing greatest sensitivity in frontal, temporal, ventricular, and corpus callosum regions, and alcoholic men showing effects mainly in the corpus callosum. Preliminary results indicate that recovery of white matter volume may occur sooner for women than for men.

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In previous research, alcoholism has been associated with white matter pathology in the  brain. White matter forms the connections between brain cells (neurons), allowing  communication between different parts of the brain. We believe that many of the  cognitive and emotional deficits observed in people with chronic alcoholism, including  memory problems and flat affect, are related to disconnections that result from a loss of  white matter.

While previous neuroimaging studies have shown an association between alcoholism  and white matter reduction, this study furthered the understanding of this effect by  examining gender differences and utilizing a novel region – of – interest approach .

We employed structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine the effects of  drinking history and gender on white matter volume. We examined brain images from 42 abstinent alcoholic men and women who drank heavily for more than five years and 42 nonalcoholic control men and women . Looking at the correlation between years of alcohol abuse and white matter volume, we found that a greater number of years of alcohol abuse was associated with smaller white matter volumes in the alcoholic s . In the men, the decrease was observed in the corpus callosum while in women, this effect was observed in cortical white matter regions.

We also examined if the average number of drinks consumed per day was associated with reduced white matter volume. We found that the number of daily drinks did have a strong impact on alcoholic women, and the volume loss was up to to 2% for each additional daily drink. Additionally, there was an 8 to 10 % increase in the size of the brain ventricles, which are areas filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) that play a protective role in the brain. When white matter dies, CSF produced in the ventricles fills the ventricular space.

Recovery of white matter brain volume also was examined. We found that, in men, the corpus callosum recovered at a rate of 1% per year for each additional year of abstinence. For people who abstained less than a year, we found evidence of increased white matter volume and decreased ventricular volume in women, but not at all in men. However, for people in recovery for more than a year, those signs of recovery disappeared in women and became apparent in men.

These findings suggest that restoration and recovery of the brain’s white matter among alcoholics occurs later in abstinence for men than for women.