ArticlePsychopharmacology2019
Signatures of alcohol use in the structure and neurochemistry of insular cortex: a correlational study.
Article in Psychopharmacology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Gray and white matter morphology in substance use disorders: a neuroimaging systematic review and meta-analysis.Translational psychiatry · 2021Pooled it
- Brain structural correlates of individual differences in heartbeat counting and discrimination: A voxel-based morphometry study.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Insula under the influence: Alcohol-induced changes in resting state functional connectivity.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2025Article
- Changes in interoception before and after treatment in patients with alcohol use disorder.Neuropsychopharmacology reports · 2024Article
- Adolescent alcohol consumption predicted by differences in electrophysiological functional connectivity and neuroanatomy.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2024Article
- Sexually dimorphic role for insular perineuronal nets in aversion-resistant alcohol consumption.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Alcohol use disorder-associated structural and functional characteristics of the insula.Journal of neuroscience research · 2022Article
- Alcohol use and interoception - A narrative review.Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry · 2021Review
- Deter the emotions: Alexithymia, impulsivity and their relationship to binge drinking.Addictive behaviors reports · 2020Article
- Does an Over-Connected Visual Cortex Undermine Efforts to Stay Sober After Treatment for Alcohol Use Disorder?Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
rationaleInsular cortex supports the representation of motivational feelings through the integration of interoceptive information concerning bodily physiology. Compromised insular integrity is implicated in alcohol and drug use disorders. Alcohol-associated insular dysfunction may arise through aberrant glutamatergic neurotransmission associated with selective neuronal death and atrophy.
objectiveIn a sample of alcohol users, we combined magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) with voxel and surface-based morphometry (VBM, SBM) to test the hypothesis that the neurochemical and structural properties of the insula relate to alcohol use.
methodsTwenty-three healthy individuals were characterized by measures of alcohol use and subjective craving. Right mid-insula glutamate/glutamine (Glx) and total N-acetylaspartate/N-acetyl-aspartylglutamate (TNAA) concentrations were measured using MRS. Right insular structure was quantified using VBM and SBM parameters. We tested for predictive associations between these neuroimaging and behavioral/psychometric measures using Bayesian statistics.
resultsReduced insular Glx concentration was associated with increased alcohol compulsions and, to a lesser extent, with greater alcohol use severity. Anecdotal evidence for a negative relationship between alcohol use severity and levels of insular gyrification was also observed.
conclusionsThis study is, to date, the first characterization of the neurochemical and morphological integrity of insular cortex in alcohol users. Our data seem to reveal a negative relationship between alcohol use and the neurochemical and structural integrity of the insula, a critical substrate for motivational behavior. These neurobiological characteristics might contribute to loss of control toward compulsive drinking with prolonged and excessive alcohol use.
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