Analysis of alcohol use disorders from the Nathan Kline Institute-Rockland Sample: Correlation of brain cortical thickness with neuroticism

- Subjects with AUD diagnosis history had higher neuroticism scores than HCs.
- Neuroticism was correlated with cortical thickness of insula and fusiform in AUDs.
- The AUD-impacted insula cortical thickness-neuroticism correlation was replicated.

BackgroundAlthough differences in both neuroanatomical measures and personality traits, in particular neuroticism, have been associated with alcohol use disorders (AUD), whether lifetime AUD diagnosis alters the relationship between neuroticism and neuroanatomical structures remains to be determined.MethodsData from 65 patients with lifetime AUD diagnoses and 65 healthy comparisons (HC) group-matched on age, sex and race were extracted from the Nathan Kline Institute − Rockland Sample data set. Each subject completed personality trait measures and underwent MRI scanning. Cortical thickness measures at 68 Desikan-Killiany Atlas regions were obtained using FreeSurfer 5.3.0. Regression analyses were performed to identify brain regions at which the neuroticism-cortical thickness relationship was altered by lifetime AUD status.ResultsAs expected, AUDs had higher neuroticism scores than HCs. Correlations between neuroticism and cortical thickness in the left insula and right fusiform differed significantly across groups. Higher neuroticism score in AUD and the interaction between the insular cortical thickness-neuroticism correlation and AUD status were confirmed in a replication study using the Human Connectome Project data set.ConclusionsResults confirmed the relationship between neuroticism and AUD and suggests that specific cortical regions, particularly the left insula, represent anatomic substrates underlying this association in AUD.