Christopher D. Kroenke1,
2, Torsten Rohlfing3, Edith V. Sullivan4, Adolf
Pfefferbaum, 34, Kathleen A. Grant2, 5
1Advanced
Imaging Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland,
OR, United States; 2Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National
Primate Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland,
OR, United States; 3Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo
Park, CA, United States; 4Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral
Sciences, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, United States; 5Department
of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland,
OR, United States
A known consequence of prolonged heavy alcohol drinking is reduction of brain tissue volume, including cerebral cortical gray matter. To facilitate systematic characterization of the biological processes underlying this volumetric change, T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging-based brain volumetric measurements are reported for 18 rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta) monkeys in the ethanol-naive state, and following 6 and 12 months of voluntary drinking (three time points total). Reductions in cerebral cortical gray matter volume are found following both drinking intervals, and the extent of volumetric reduction is proportional to the average daily intake of ethanol, which ranged from 0.2 to 4.3 g/kg/day.