ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Addictive Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1662842
This article is part of the Research TopicNeurobiological mechanisms of addiction: bridging Neuroscience and clinical implicationsView all 6 articles
Volumetric and Cortical Thickness Alterations in Alcohol Dependence: Evidence of Accelerated Brain Aging and Clinical Correlations
Provisionally accepted
- 1Nisantasi University, Istanbul, Türkiye
- 2Beykoz Universitesi, Istanbul, Türkiye
- 3TC Uskudar Universitesi, Üsküdar, Türkiye
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Background: Chronic alcohol dependence is associated with structural brain changes that resemble premature aging, particularly in frontal, parietal, and subcortical regions. This study examined brain volume, cortical thickness, and brain-predicted age in individuals with alcohol dependence and assessed associations with clinical symptoms. Methods: ThOrty-one alcohol-dependent patOents (mean age = 37.8 ± 7.3 years) and 26 age-matched healthy controls (mean age = 35.0 ± 8.5 years) underwent hOgh-resolutOon T1-weOghted MRI scannOng. BraOn structural analyses, OncludOng regOonal volumetry and cortOcal thOckness estOmatOon, were conducted usOng the valOdated volBra'n platform. The system also provOded OndOvOdualOzed braOn-predOcted age estOmates vOa Ots machOne learnOng-based BraOn Structure Ages (BSA) pOpelOne. ClOnOcal assessments Oncluded the MOchOgan AlcoholOsm ScreenOng Test (MATT), Penn Alcohol CravOng Scale (PENN), Beck DepressOon and AnxOety InventorOes (BDI-II, BAI), and detaOled alcohol use hOstory. Results: Alcohol-dependent participants showed significant reductions in total white matter, right frontal lobe, inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral postcentral gyri, and left superior occipital gyrus volumes (p < 0.05), along with widespread cortical thinning. Brain-predicted age was on average 11.5 years greater in patients than in controls (p < 0.001), especially in white matter and basal ganglia structures. Higher MATT scores correlated with reduced right precentral gyrus and left caudate volumes. PENN scores were positively associated with occipital volumes; however, this association weakened after controlling for age. Depression was linked to reduced frontal pole and increased amygdala volume, while anxiety was associated with smaller orbitofrontal and angular gyrus volumes. Conclusions: Alcohol dependence is marked by diffuse brain atrophy and accelerated brain aging. Structural alterations correspond to addiction severity, craving, and mood symptoms, highlighting brain-predicted age as a potential biomarker of cumulative alcohol-related neurodegeneration.
Keywords: alcohol dependence, Brain aging, Cortical thinning, structural MRI, addiction severity
Received: 09 Jul 2025; Accepted: 28 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Çınaroğlu, Yılmazer, Ülker, Taç yıldız and Tarlacı. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Metin Çınaroğlu, Nisantasi University, Istanbul, Türkiye
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