Lisdahl et al. 2013a, Lisdahl et al. 2013b. This study aimed to explore the impact of binge drinking on cerebellar structure. This sample was comprised of 46 AU youth (defined as having at least one binge drinking episode during the past 3 months), aged 16–19, and 60 non-AU youth (with no past 3 month binge drinking and/or no AUD diagnoses). Cerebellar volumes were examined with FreeSurfer, a brain imaging analysis tool used to measure cortical volume, surface area and thickness. Across both AU and non-AU youth, greater number of peak drinks (greatest quantity of alcohol consumed during a single occasion over the past 3 months) was significantly correlated with smaller left hemisphere cerebellar GM and WM and smaller right hemisphere cerebellar GM. Gender did not moderate these effects. These results held even after controlling for a number of potentially salient factors including, intracranial volume, depressive symptoms, conduct disorder diagnosis, family history of substance use disorder, recent tobacco use, lifetime cannabis use, lifetime other drug use, suggesting that co-occurring factors did not drive the observed relationships.
