Others found SG differences in volume loss in the thalamus and putamen in adolescents with AUD. The pattern of brain volume loss was reversed from that demonstrated in the PFC; males with AUD had smaller thalamus (mm3; mean=16277, SD=939) and putamen (mm3; mean=9395, SD=975) volumes compared to non-AUD males (mm3; mean=16502, SD=819; mean=10088, SD=710, respectively), whereas females with AUD had larger thalamus (mm3; mean=16355, SD=934) and putamen (mm3; mean=9623, SD=1092) volumes than non-AUD females (mm3; mean=15920, SD=867; mean=9237, SD=878, respectively) (Fein et al., 2013). Although, Seo and colleagues (2019) found that atrophy of gray matter in thalamus and other regions was more strongly associated with heavy drinking in females compared to males (S. Seo et al., 2019). Taken together, these studies suggest AUD is associated with small to medium effect sizes on volume when stratified by sex.
