Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25982660›Full record

ArticleThe American journal of psychiatry2015

Brain development in heavy-drinking adolescents.

Lindsay M Squeglia, Susan F Tapert, Edith V Sullivan, Joanna Jacobus, M J Meloy, Torsten Rohlfing, Adolf Pfefferbaum

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The American journal of psychiatry, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 142 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
142citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
46.6field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

142 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 240 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. A Randomized Controlled Trial of N-acetylcysteine for Adolescent and Young Adult Alcohol Use Disorder.Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry · 2026
    Trial
  3. Trial
  4. Trial
  5. Oxytocin attenuates neural response to emotional faces in social drinkers: an fMRI study.European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2021
    Trial
  6. Trial
  7. Preventing Binge Drinking in Adolescents.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2017
    Trial
  8. Article
  9. Underage Access to Alcohol Through Curbside and Home Delivery: Prevalence and Consequences.Prevention science : the official journal of the Society for Prevention Research · 2026
    Article
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Article
  15. Variation of Myelin-associated Gene Expression andbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article

82 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Lindsay M SquegliaFrom the VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, Calif.; the Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla; the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston; the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford; and the Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif.
Susan F TapertFrom the VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, Calif.; the Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla; the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston; the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford; and the Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif.
Edith V SullivanFrom the VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, Calif.; the Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla; the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston; the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford; and the Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif.
Joanna JacobusFrom the VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, Calif.; the Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla; the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston; the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford; and the Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif.
M J MeloyFrom the VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, Calif.; the Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla; the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston; the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford; and the Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif.
Torsten RohlfingFrom the VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, Calif.; the Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla; the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston; the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford; and the Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif.
Adolf PfefferbaumFrom the VA San Diego Healthcare System, La Jolla, Calif.; the Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla; the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston; the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford; and the Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, Calif.
Stanford University · US

Funding

NCANDA: Data Analysis Resource - Uploading Legacy Data to NDAU24AA021697 · NIAAA · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI Adolf Pfefferbaum, Kilian Maria Pohl · 2016 to 2026
$12.2M
National Consortium on Alcohol and NeuroDevelopment in Adolescence: San DiegoU01AA021692 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI Susan F. Tapert · 2012 to 2026
$11.8M
Clinical Scientists Training Program in Addictions at MUSCK12DA031794 · NIDA · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · PI Kevin M. Gray, AIMEE L MCRAE-CLARK · 2013 to 2026
$7.2M
fMRI Cognition in Youth at Risk for Alcoholism-Diversity SupplementR01AA013419 · NIAAA · VETERANS MEDICAL RESEARCH FDN/SAN DIEGO · PI TAPERT, SUSAN F · 2002 to 2017
$7.1M
N-CANDA: DATA ANALYSIS COMPONENTU01AA021697 · NIAAA · SRI INTERNATIONAL · PI PFEFFERBAUM, ADOLF, POHL, KILIAN MARIA · 2012 to 2015
$3.6M
Translational Studies of Brain Circuitry Disrupted by AlcoholismK05AA017168 · NIAAA · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · PI SULLIVAN, EDITH VIONI · 2008 to 2017
$2.2M
Brain Structure Predictors of Substance Use in AdolescenceF32DA032188 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI JACOBUS, JOANNA · 2011 to 2014
$149k
Brain Structural and Functional Predictors of Adolescent Alcohol UseF32AA021610 · NIAAA · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · PI SQUEGLIA, LINDSAY · 2013 to 2014
$61k
NIAAA NIH HHS F32 AA021610NIAAA NIH HHS K05 AA017168NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA013419NIAAA NIH HHS R01 AA13419NIAAA NIH HHS U01 AA021692NIAAA NIH HHS U01 AA021697NIAAA NIH HHS U24 AA021697NIDA NIH HHS F32 DA032188NIDA NIH HHS K12 DA031794NIDA NIH HHS K12DA031794
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveHeavy alcohol use during adolescence may alter the trajectory of normal brain development. The authors measured within-subject changes in regional brain morphometry over longer intervals and in larger samples of adolescents than previously reported and assessed differences between adolescents who remained nondrinkers and those who drank heavily during adolescence as well as differences between the sexes.

methodThe authors examined gray and white matter volume trajectories in 134 adolescents, of whom 75 transitioned to heavy drinking and 59 remained light drinkers or nondrinkers over roughly 3.5 years. Each underwent MRI scanning two to six times between ages 12 and 24 and was followed for up to 8 years. The volumes of the neocortex, allocortex, and white matter structures were measured using atlas-based parcellation with longitudinal registration. Linear mixed-effects models described differences in trajectories of heavy drinkers and nondrinkers over age; secondary analyses considered the contribution of other drug use to identified alcohol use effects.

resultsHeavy-drinking adolescents showed accelerated gray matter reduction in cortical lateral frontal and temporal volumes and attenuated white matter growth of the corpus callosum and pons relative to nondrinkers. These results were largely unchanged when use of marijuana and other drugs was examined. Male and female drinkers showed similar patterns of development trajectory abnormalities.

conclusionsLongitudinal analysis enabled detection of accelerated typical volume decline in frontal and temporal cortical volumes and attenuated growth in principal white matter structures in adolescents who started to drink heavily. These results provide a call for caution regarding heavy alcohol use during adolescence, whether heavy drinking is the sole cause or one of several in these alterations in brain development.

Indexed as

AdolescentAge FactorsAlcohol-Related DisordersBrainBrain MappingCerebral CortexChildCorpus CallosumEthanolFemaleGray MatterHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleNeocortexOrgan SizeEthanol

Identifiers

PMID25982660
PMCPMC4451385
OpenAlexW2167785125

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.