Few neuroimaging studies have directly compared treatment-seeking and non-treatment-seeking AUD individuals. Gazdzinski et al. (2008) identified higher cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) volume, smaller gray matter (GM) volumes in cortical lobes and thalamus, and lower concentrations of metabolites reflecting neuronal viability in treatment-seeking versus treatmentnaïve AUD individuals. Moreover, few differences were found between the treatment-naïve AUD group and healthy controls. Therefore, convenience samples drawn from treatment-seeking populations may overestimate the magnitude of brain abnormality in the general population of AUD individuals.
