The purpose of the current study was to examine subcortical volumes in short-term and long-term abstinent pure alcoholics and alcoholics with co-occurring stimulant abuse or dependence. We hypothesized that we would see lower subcortical volumes in short-term abstinent alcoholics without comorbid stimulant dependence, but not in those with comorbid stimulant dependence. We hypothesized that such individuals would have alcohol dependence induced subcortical atrophy masked by stimulant dependence induced subcortical inflammation. We did not expect to see smaller subcortical volumes in long-term abstinent individuals with alcohol dependence only, but might see smaller hippocampal and amygdala volumes in such long-term abstinent with alcohol dependence only if they also had comorbid internalizing psychiatric disorders (as predicted from our prior study of long-term abstinent alcoholics).
