Alcohol dependence is a serious disorder that can be related with a number of potential health-related and social consequences. Cortical thickness measurements would provide important information on the cortical structural alterations in patients with alcohol dependence. Twenty-one patients with alcohol dependence and 22 healthy comparison subjects have been recruited and underwent high-resolution brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and clinical assessments. T1-weighted MR images were analyzed using the cortical thickness analysis program. Significantly thinner cortical thickness in patients with alcohol dependence than healthy comparison subjects was noted in the left superior frontal cortical region, correcting for multiple comparisons and adjusting with age and hemispheric average cortical thickness. There was a significant association between thickness in the cluster of the left superior frontal cortex and the duration of alcohol use. The prefrontal cortical region may particularly be vulnerable to chronic alcohol exposure. It is also possible that the pre-existing deficit in this region may have rendered individuals more susceptible to alcohol dependence.

中文翻译：

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戒毒的酒精依赖患者的前额叶皮层厚度不足。

酒精依赖是一种严重的疾病，可能与许多潜在的健康相关和社会后果有关。皮质厚度的测量将提供有关酒精依赖患者皮质结构改变的重要信息。已招募了21名酒精依赖患者和22名健康对照受试者，并对其进行了高分辨率脑磁共振（MR）成像和临床评估。使用皮质厚度分析程序分析T1加权MR图像。酒精依赖患者的皮质厚度比健康对照者的左上额皮质区域明显薄，可以校正多次比较并根据年龄和半球平均皮质厚度进行调整。左上额叶皮质簇的厚度与饮酒时间之间存在显着相关性。前额叶皮层区特别容易受到慢性酒精暴露的影响。该区域先前存在的赤字也可能使个人更容易受到酒精依赖。