PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - J. Tanabe
AU  - P. York
AU  - T. Krmpotich
AU  - D. Miller
AU  - M. Dalwani
AU  - J.T. Sakai
AU  - S.K. Mikulich-Gilbertson
AU  - L. Thompson
AU  - E. Claus
AU  - M. Banich
AU  - D.C. Rojas
TI  - Insula and Orbitofrontal Cortical Morphology in Substance Dependence Is Modulated by Sex
AID  - 10.3174/ajnr.A3347
DP  - 2013 Jun 01
TA  - American Journal of Neuroradiology
PG  - 1150--1156
VI  - 34
IP  - 6
4099  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/34/6/1150.short
4100  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/34/6/1150.full
SO  - Am. J. Neuroradiol.2013 Jun 01; 34
AB  - BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Frontolimbic circuits are involved in learning and decision-making processes thought to be affected in substance-dependent individuals. We investigated frontolimbic cortical morphometry in substance-dependent men and women and determined whether morphometric measurements correlated with decision-making performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-eight abstinent SDI (17 men/11 women) were compared with 28 controls (13 men/15 women). Cortical thicknesses and volumes were computed by using FreeSurfer. After controlling for age and intracranial volume, group and sex effects were analyzed in 3 a priori regions of interest: the insula, orbitofrontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex by using analysis of covariance. A secondary whole-brain analysis was conducted to verify region-of-interest results and to explore potential differences in other brain regions. RESULTS: Region-of-interest analyses revealed a main effect of group on the left insula cortex, which was thinner in SDI compared with controls (P = .02). There was a group by sex interaction on bilateral insula volume (left, P = .02; right, P = .001) and right insula cortical thickness (P = .007). Compared with same-sex controls, female SDI had smaller insulae, whereas male SDI had larger insulae. Neither ACC nor OFC significantly differed across group. Performance on a decision-making task was better in controls than SDI and correlated with OFC measurements in the controls. CONCLUSIONS: SDI and controls differed in insula morphology, and those differences were modulated by sex. No group differences in OFC were observed, but OFC measurements correlated with negative-reinforcement learning in controls. These preliminary results are consistent with a hypothesis that frontolimbic pathways may be involved in behaviors related to substance dependence. ACCanterior cingulate cortexDSM-IVDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth EditionOFCorbitofrontal cortexSDIsubstance-dependent individualsVBMvoxel-based morphometry