sample sizes should be used in future studies. Lastly, because it was a cross-sectional study, we could not determine the causal relationship showing whether the altered FC or structural damage was due to the effect of alcohol, or whether these characteristics led to AUD. However, all the participants were sober for at least 5 months, thus excluding the possibility of active on-going damage by alcohol at the time of study. In addition, previous studies have shown the neuro-degenerative effect of alcohol on the neural areas implicated in the current study (66–69).
