Electroencephalographic Power and Coherence Analyses Suggest Altered Brain Function in Abstinent Male Heroin-Dependent Patients

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that drug abuse is associated with altered brain function. However, studies of heroin abuse-related brain dysfunctions are scarce. Electroencephalographic (EEG) power and coherence analyses are two important tools for examining the effects of drugs on brain function. In the present study, we compared EEG power and coherence measures of 18 abstinent heroin-dependent subjects with those of 12 healthy control subjects. Furthermore, within the heroin group, associations between heroin use in the past, heroin craving and these EEG measures were studied. The results show that heroin-dependent subjects have increased relative beta-2 power and increased left intrahemispheric gamma coherence compared with control subjects. Furthermore, coherence measures showed correlations with clinical variables. These EEG abnormalities may reflect underlying changes in brain function due to long-term drug abuse and premorbid characteristics.

EEG Biofeedback as a Treatment for Substance Use Disorders: Review, Rating of Efficacy and Recommendations for Further Research

“…It measures the functional interaction between cortical areas in different frequency bands. A high level of coherence between two EEG signals indicates a coactivation of neuronal populations and provides information on functional coupling between these areas (Franken, Stam, Hendriks, & van den Brink, 2004). De Bruin et al (2004) and De Bruin, Stam, Bijl, Verbaten, and Kenemans (2006 investigated the pure effects of alcohol intake on synchronization of brain activity while minimizing the confounding influence of genetic factors related to alcohol dependence.…”

“…Qualitative changes were observed in more than 70% of heroin addicts in the early abstinence (acute withdrawal) period; these included low-voltage background activity with diminution of alpha rhythm, an increase in beta activity, and a large amount of low-amplitude delta and theta waves in central regions (Olivennes, Charles-Nicolas, & Olievenstein, 1983;Polunina & Davydov, 2004). Franken et al (2004) found that abstinent heroindependent participants have an enhanced fast beta power compared with healthy controls, and this finding is concordant with other EEG studies on alcohol and cocaine abusing participants (Costa & Bauer, 1997;Herning, Glover, Koeppl, Phillips, & London, 1994;Rangaswamy et al, 2004;Roemer, Cornwell, Dewart, Jackson, & Ercegovac, 1995). Spectral power and ERPs in heroin addicts strongly relate to abstinence length (Bauer, 2001b;Polunina & Davydov, 2004;Shufman et al, 1996).…”

“…Withdrawal state in heroin addicts is known to elicit a strong craving for drug, anxiety, nervousness, deficits in inhibitory control, dysphoric motivational state, and intrusive thoughts related to drugs (Franken, 2003;Franken, de Haan, van der Meer, Haffmans, & Hendriks, 1999;Franken et al, 2004;Stormark, Laberg, Nordby, & Hugdahl, 2000). Research on functional connectivity in drug withdrawal states is restricted to a few studies on coherence of the EEG signal in abstinent heroin users (Fingelkurts et al, 2006b;Franken et al, 2004), active heroin abusers (Fingelkurts et al, 2006a), and abstinent polysubstance abusers (Roemer et al, 1995).…”

“…Research on functional connectivity in drug withdrawal states is restricted to a few studies on coherence of the EEG signal in abstinent heroin users (Fingelkurts et al, 2006b;Franken et al, 2004), active heroin abusers (Fingelkurts et al, 2006a), and abstinent polysubstance abusers (Roemer et al, 1995). In a study on 22 opioid-dependent patients under acute opioid influence, Fingelkurts et al (2006a) showed that longitudinal opioid exposure impairs cortical local and remote functional connectivity and found that local connectivity increased, whereas the remote one decreased.…”

Drug Polyconsumption Is Associated With Increased Synchronization of Brain Electrical-Activity at Rest and in a Counting Task

“…These results suggest that Electroencephalogram (EEG) power may be more related to pre-morbid individual differences rather than to the effects of drug abuse. 12 …”