Gray matter abnormalities in cocaine versus methamphetamine-dependent patients: a neuroimaging meta-analysis

Hall, Matthew; Alhassoon, Omar M.; Stern, Mark J.; Wollman, Scott C; Kimmel, Christine L; Perez-Figueroa, Adlyn M.; Raduà, Joaquim

doi:10.3109/00952990.2015.1044607

Cited by 72 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Providing that correlation with duration of abstinence reflects the effects of releasing from the pressure of methamphetamine, these positive correlations implicate that abstinent users were experiencing a recovery from methamphetamine induced gray-matter reduction in volume and thickness. The effects of methamphetamine use suggested by these correlations generally agree with previous findings of volumetric reductions in hippocampus [9], right inferior parietal lobe and left superior temporal gyrus [11,15,20], but disagree with previous findings of gray-matter increment in putamen [7,8,13,14], nucleus accumbens [8,13], caudate [13] and globus pallidusin [13,14], and disagree with previous findings of gray-matter loss in limbic cortex [9], cerebellum [7] and frontal lobe [11,12,16]. It is not probably the variation in duration of abstinence induces these discrepancies, because with such a large sample size, we didn't identify reliable correlation of duration of abstinence with volume of these structures or regions.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Gray-matter structure in long-term abstinent methamphetamine users

Nie

Zhao

Wen³

et al. 2020

BMC Psychiatry

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Background: Previous studies of brain structure in methamphetamine users have yielded inconsistent findings, possibly reflecting small sample size and inconsistencies in duration of methamphetamine abstinence as well as sampling and analyses methods. Here we report on a relatively large sample of abstinent methamphetamine users at various stages of long-term abstinence. Methods: Chronic methamphetamine users (n = 99), abstinent from the drug ranging from 12 to 621 days, and healthy controls (n = 86) received T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance imaging brain scans. Subcortical and cortical gray-matter volumes and cortical thickness were measured and the effects of group, duration of abstinence, duration of methamphetamine use and onset age of methamphetamine use were investigated using the Freesurfer software package. Results: Methamphetamine users did not differ from controls in gray-matter volumes, except for a cluster in the right lateral occipital cortex where gray-matter volume was smaller, and for regions mainly in the bilateral superior frontal gyrui where thickness was greater. Duration of abstinence correlated positively with gray-matter volumes in whole brain, bilateral accumbens nuclei and insulae clusters, and right hippocampus; and with thickness in a right insula cluster. Duration of methamphetamine use correlated negatively with gray-matter volume and cortical thickness of a cluster in the right lingual and pericalcarine cortex. Conclusions: Chronic methamphetamine use induces hard-to-recover cortical thickening in bilateral superior frontal gyri and recoverable volumetric reduction in right hippocampus, bilateral accumbens nuclei and bilateral cortical regions around insulae. These alternations might contribute to methamphetamine-induced neurocognitive disfunctions and reflect a regional specific response of the brain to methamphetamine.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Gray-matter structure in long-term abstinent methamphetamine users

Nie

Zhao

Wen³

et al. 2020

BMC Psychiatry

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“…Moreover, it has been suggested that repeated stimulant intake impacts the fronto-striatal reward system by enhancing the value of the drug of abuse, while simultaneously reducing the sensitivity for the rewarding nature of social contacts [18]. Recent meta-analyses [19,20] have additionally identified that chronic stimulant users display overlapping morphological changes of cortical regions previously shown to be key areas of social cognition and interaction [12,14,21]: e.g., ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC); inferior, middle, and superior frontal cortex; anterior cingulate cortex (ACC); insula; superior and middle temporal cortex; and amygdala. In the following, investigations characterizing, quantifying, and explaining disturbances of social cognition and interaction in cocaine, methamphetamine, and non-medical methylphenidate users will be reviewed with respect to different socially-related mental functions (see also Table 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social cognition and interaction in stimulant use disorders

Quednow

2017

Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences

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Beyond impairments in attention, memory, and executive functions, chronic users of stimulant drugs also display specific disturbances in social cognition, which are contributing to social dysfunctions in their daily life. Recent studies have shown overlapping alterations in fear recognition from faces, emotion recognition from complex visual stimuli, emotional empathy, and mental and emotional perspective-taking (Theory-of-Mind) in stimulant users. Additionally, stimulant users often have smaller social networks and show less prosocial behaviour in game-theoretical social decision-making tasks. In social interaction and social feedback tasks during functional imaging cocaine users revealed decreased activation of the medial-frontal reward system. In conclusion, training of social reward and social cognition might improve social functioning including therapeutic relationships and, thus, enhance treatment success in stimulant addiction.

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“…Since many other insults, including exposure to other substances, can alter BBB permeability, would additive physical damage of the BBB be always expected? This is not necessarily true, as METH has been shown to exert particular effects on the CNS, structurally and molecularly, even when compared to other related stimulants such as cocaine [106][107][108].…”

Section: S El Hayek Et Almentioning

confidence: 99%