Cortical thickness and related depressive symptoms in early abstinence from chronic methamphetamine use

Abstract

Methamphetamine use is surging globally as a cause of morbidity and mortality.Treatment is typically sought in early abstinence, when craving and depressive symptoms are intense, contributing to relapse and poor outcomes. To advance an understanding of this problem and identify therapeutic targets, we conducted a retrospective analysis of brain structure in 89 adults with Methamphetamine Use Disorder who were in early abstinence and 89 healthy controls. Unlike most prior research, the participants did not significantly differ in age, sex and recent use of alcohol and tobacco (p-values ≥ 0.400). We analysed thickness across the entire cerebral cortex by fitting a general linear model to identify differences between groups.Follow-up regressions were performed to determine whether cortical thickness in regions showing group differences was related to craving, measured on a visual analogue scale, or to the Beck Depression Inventory score. Participants in early methamphetamine abstinence (M ± SD = 22.1 ± 25.6 days) exhibited thinner cortex in clusters within bilateral frontal, parietal, temporal, insular, and right cingulate cortices relative to controls (p-values < 0.001, corrected for multiple comparisons). Unlike craving (β = 0.007, p = 0.947), depressive symptoms were positively correlated with cortical thickness across clusters (β = 0.239, p = 0.030) and with thickness in the anterior cingulate cluster (β = 0.246, p = 0.027) in the methamphetamine-dependent group. Inasmuch as anterior cingulate pathology predicts response to antidepressants for Major Depressive Disorder, cingulate structure may also identify patients with Methamphetamine Use Disorder who can benefit from antidepressant medication.

Structural brain changes associated with cocaine use and digital cognitive behavioral therapy in cocaine use disorder treatment

“…For example, maladaptive increases in striatal GMV may occur as a response to illicit stimulant use possibly via increased activation of dorsal striatum medium spiny neurons and may reflect compensatory mechanisms in response to toxicity ( Berman et al, 2008 , Pando-Naude et al, 2021 ), while adaptive increases in striatal GMV have been observed as a result of stimulant medications for treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder ( Nakao et al, 2011 ) and electroconvulsive therapy for depression ( Bouckaert et al, 2016 , Camilleri et al, 2020 ), possibly reflective of neuroplasticity involving dendritic branching and synaptogenesis ( Zatorre et al, 2012 ). In some circumstances, increases (via glial proliferation) and decreases (via neuronal loss) in GMV may even occur within the same brain region ( Petzold et al, 2022 ). Overall, the biological mechanisms underlying GMV changes can be multifaceted.…”

Mapping structural covariance networks of emotional withdrawal symptoms in males with methamphetamine use disorder during abstinence

“…The T1‐weighted MRI data were preprocessed in FreeSurfer (Version 7.1.0; http://surfer.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu) to conduct CTh measurements. The image processing pipeline has been detailed in many other articles 17,18 . Firstly, preprocessing operations such as head motion correction and grey/white matter segmentation were carried out.…”

“…The image processing pipeline has been detailed in many other articles. 17 , 18 Firstly, preprocessing operations such as head motion correction and grey/white matter segmentation were carried out. Following surface extraction, individuals' cortical surfaces were registered to a standard spherical map following inflation using the spherical registration method.…”

“…A combined method involving CTh and SCN analysis can provide information on the structural inter‐regional network in abstinent MUDs and their anxiety and depressive symptoms, which will complement the discoveries about the disrupted FC between brain regions in the disease. However, previous SBM studies mainly focused on revealing abnormal cortical thickness in MUDs, 17,18 and SCN analysis based on CTh in MUDs has not been reported in the current literature yet.…”

“…However, previous SBM studies mainly focused on revealing abnormal cortical thickness in MUDs, 17,18 and SCN analysis based on CTh in MUDs has not been reported in the current literature yet.…”