Relative to controls, AUD subjects show reduced cerebral glucose metabolism, pronounced in medial frontal and parietal cortical areas (Gilman et al., 1990; Wik et al., 1988). Acute alcohol intoxication also reduces brain glucose metabolism (Volkow et al., 1990; Volkow et al., 2006). It appears that brain energy metabolism during acute alcohol intoxication shifts to alternative sources: in an [11C]acetate PET study of AUD subjects and occasional social drinkers, glial cells preferentially utilized acetate (a byproduct of alcohol breakdown) over glucose (Volkow et al., 2013). In heavy alcohol users, baseline acetate uptake was more pronounced than in occasional social drinkers and correlated with the self-reported quantity of daily alcohol intake (Jiang et al., 2013; Volkow et al., 2013).
