Evidence for a Unique Association Between Fronto-Cortical Glycine Levels and Recent Heavy Drinking in Treatment Naïve Individuals with Alcohol Use Disorder

Publication date: Available online 18 May 2019Source: Neuroscience LettersAuthor(s): James J. Prisciandaro, Joseph P. Schacht, Andrew P. Prescot, Helena M. Brenner, Perry F. Renshaw, Truman R. Brown, Raymond F. AntonAbstractAlthough the neurotransmitters/modulators glutamate and, more recently, glycine have been implicated in the development and maintenance of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) in preclinical research, human proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) studies have focused solely on the measurement of glutamate. The purpose of the present analysis was to examine the relative associations of brain glutamate and glycine levels with recent heavy drinking in 41 treatment naïve individuals with AUD using 1H-MRS. The present study is the first that we are aware of to report in vivo brain glycine levels from an investigation of addiction.Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex (dACC) glutamate and glycine concentration estimates were obtained using Two-Dimensional J-Resolved Point Resolved Spectroscopy at 3 Tesla, and past 2-week summary estimates of alcohol consumption were assessed via the Timeline Followback method. Glutamate (β= -0.44, t= -3.09, p =  0.004) and glycine (β= -0.68, t= -5.72, p <  0.001) were each significantly, inversely associated with number of heavy drinking days when considered alone. However, when both variables were simultaneously entered into a single regression model, the effect of glutamate was no longer significant (β= -0.11, t= -0.8...
Source: Neuroscience Letters - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research