The MRI literature is larger than that of PET regarding the imaging of SG differences in AUD but is still lacking in terms of recent investigations and our overall understanding of SG differences in brain morphometry associated with adolescent alcohol use and the transition to AUD in adulthood. Overall, adolescent girls demonstrated smaller PFC volumes and less frontal activation compared to same-sex controls, whereas boys generally demonstrated the opposite pattern, and this may have implications for cognitive deficits associated with alcohol use. Family history should be considered a risk factor in the development of AUD, as alterations in hippocampus and nucleus accumbens have been associated with FHP in this peak time of neurodevelopment. Findings are largely mixed for adults with AUD. Findings suggest reduced gray and white matter volume in AUD men only, in AUD women only, or no SG differences in reduced brain volume regarding problem drinking or AUD compared to healthy controls. Overall, structural neuroimaging results indicate that smaller brain volumes are associated with alcohol use and that SG difference findings are generally mixed.
