Abstract

This research is designed to determine neuroanatomical and neurochemical correlates of addictive and aggressive/impulsive behavior in human subjects. The principal focus of these studies is the measurement and correlation of regional cerebral glucose metabolic activity, using positron emission tomography (PET), cerebrospinal fluid metabolites and measures of impulsive/aggressive behavior and excessive alcohol consumption. Past studies have correlated decreasing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of 5-hydroxy-indoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) with increasing lifetime histories of aggression. We demonstrated that decreased rCMRglu in the orbital- frontal and right temporal regions of the brain is associated with increased lifetime history of aggression. We have also shown differences in orbital-frontal glucose metabolism between men and women; similar gender-related differences in CSF 5-HIAA have been documented. The intent of the present project is to correlate CSF 5-HIAA levels and RCMRGLU in the orbital-frontal and right temporal regions with impulsive/aggressive behavior. Subject accrual continues. Scan data comparing alcoholics and normal volunteers is under analysis. When a statistically significant number of research subjects have completed the study, CSF samples will be analyzed in one batch.

  Funding Agency

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Intramural Research (Z01)
Project #
1Z01AA000061-02
Application #
3767552
Study Section
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
Budget End
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
1993
Total Cost
Indirect Cost

  Institution

Name
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
State
Country
United States
Zip Code

  Publications

Bjork, James M; Momenan, Reza; Hommer, Daniel W (2009) Delay discounting correlates with proportional lateral frontal cortex volumes. Biol Psychiatry 65:710-3
Schottenbauer, Michele A; Hommer, Daniel; Weingartner, Herbert (2007) Memory deficits among alcoholics: performance on a selective reminding task. Neuropsychol Dev Cogn B Aging Neuropsychol Cogn 14:505-16
Schottenbauer, Michele A; Momenan, Reza; Kerick, Michael et al. (2007) Relationships among aging, IQ, and intracranial volume in alcoholics and control subjects. Neuropsychology 21:337-45
Brown, Amira K; George, David T; Fujita, Masahiro et al. (2007) PET [11C]DASB imaging of serotonin transporters in patients with alcoholism. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 31:28-32
Gilman, Jodi M; Bjork, James M; Hommer, Daniel W (2007) Parental alcohol use and brain volumes in early- and late-onset alcoholics. Biol Psychiatry 62:607-15
Sporn, Alexandra; Greenstein, Deanna; Gogtay, Nitin et al. (2005) Childhood-onset schizophrenia: smooth pursuit eye-tracking dysfunction in family members. Schizophr Res 73:243-52
Daurignac, Elsa; Toga, Arthur; Jones, Derek et al. (2005) Applications of morphometric and diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging to the study of brain abnormalities in the alcoholism spectrum. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 29:159-166
Momenan, Reza; Rawlings, Robert; Fong, Grace et al. (2004) Voxel-based homogeneity probability maps of gray matter in groups: assessing the reliability of functional effects. Neuroimage 21:965-72
George, David T; Rawlings, Robert R; Williams, Wendol A et al. (2004) A select group of perpetrators of domestic violence: evidence of decreased metabolism in the right hypothalamus and reduced relationships between cortical/subcortical brain structures in position emission tomography. Psychiatry Res 130:11-25
Williams, Wendol; Reimold, Matthias; Kerich, Michael et al. (2004) Glucose utilization in the medial prefrontal cortex correlates with serotonin turnover rate and clinical depression in alcoholics. Psychiatry Res 132:219-24

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