Namita Saini Singh
Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, India
Title: White matter structural damage results in memory decline and impaired visual information processing in abstinent chronic alcoholics as seen on DTI
Biography
Biography: Namita Saini Singh
Abstract
Chronic alcohol abuse is characterized by impaired cognitive abilities with a more severe defi cit in visual than in verbal
function.
Using DTI we found evidence of microstructural defi cits in abstinent alcoholic men in white matter tracts of the right
hemisphere. We found inverse correlation of FA with memory dysfunction scores in white matter tracts associated with reward
circuitry suggesting that white matter defi cit could contribute to memory decline in chronic alcoholics.
Neuropsychological tests to assess visual processing skills and defi cits were correlated with Fractional Anisotropy and
Mean Diff usivity in the inferior and superior fronto-occipital fasciculus. We found reduced FA and increased MD in these
tracts. FA showed an inverse correlation while MD showed a direct correlation with neuropsychological tests.
Further spectroscopy studies at our centre also showed a signifi cant increase in Cho/Cr and myo-inositol /creatine ratios
while NAA/Cr and Glutamate-Glutamine/Creatine were signifi cantly decreased. Th e results suggest that metabolic alterations
in the primary visual cortex may contribute to neuropsychological impairment in visual information processing.