Impairments in the Default Mode and Executive Networks in Methamphetamine Users During Short-Term Abstinence

Abstract

Purpose Methamphetamine use may cause severe neurotoxicity and cognitive impairment, leading to addiction, overdose, and high rates of relapse. However, few studies have systematically focused on functional impairments detected by neuroimaging in methamphetamine abstainers (MAs) during short-term abstinence. This study aimed to investigate effective connectivity, resting-state networks, and internetwork functional connectivity in MA brains to improve clinical treatment. Methods Twenty MAs and 27 age- and education-matched healthy controls underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. The amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations and Granger causality were analyzed to investigate disrupted brain regions and effective connectivity, respectively. Independent component analysis and functional network connectivity were used to identify resting-state networks and internetwork functional connectivity, respectively. Results Compared with healthy controls, MAs demonstrated abnormal amplitudes of low-frequency fluctuations in the bilateral precuneus, left posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), left middle frontal gyrus (MFG), left superior parietal lobule, left supplementary motor area (SMA), and left inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Moreover, MAs showed decreased effective connectivity from the left PCC to the left precuneus, increased effective connectivity from the left precuneus to the left MFG and from the right precuneus to the left SMA, and altered functional connectivity within the default mode network (DMN), frontoparietal network, sensorimotor network, ventral attention network, cerebellar network, and visual network. Importantly, hyperconnectivity between the DMN and ventral attention network and hypoconnectivity between the DMN and cerebellar network as well as the DMN and frontoparietal network were demonstrated in MAs. Conclusion Our study implies that in short-term methamphetamine abstinence, disruptions to the DMN and executive network may a play key role, providing new insights for early rehabilitation.

Intrinsic brain activity in sensorimotor cortices characterises substance use disorders: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis

“…Cluster C2 showed two peak voxels in the left postcentral gyrus (PoCG) and consisted of an area that could be assigned to 82.9% of the left PoCG and 14.6% of the left PrCG, with the remaining 2.4% not assignable. Similar to C1, C2 exhibited contributions from different SUD populations contributing to it (2x methamphetamine (Gong et al, 2022;Liang et al, 2023), codeine (Qiu et al, 2016), and betel quid (Liu et al, 2016)). No other feasible sensitivity contrasts could show a significant difference between SUDs and controls.…”

“…In the comparative review of the contributing studies, it was salient to us that they were predominantly conducted on SUD samples with comparatively short mean durations of illness surrounding the 5-year mark (Gong et al, 2022;Liang et al, 2023;Liao et al, 2012;Nie et al, 2022;Qiu et al, 2016;Wolf et al, 2023). Exceptions were the studies by Liu et al (2016) and Hong et al (2018).…”

Mapping the Neural Substrates of Cocaine Craving: A Systematic Review

“…Even though cocaine and methamphetamine are both potent stimulants with similar mechanisms of action, which involve dopamine release in the brain's reward circuitry, they could also possess some pharmacokinetic and neurobiological-related peculiarities that may lead to different craving and addictionrelated behavior patterns. Past research on methamphetamine addiction has pointed to the involvement of the frontal lobe and the prefrontal cortex in disrupted executive functions, similarly to that of individuals addicted to CUD [55]. Likewise, dysfunction of subcortical structures such as the basal ganglia and limbic system, which includes the amygdala and the hippocampus, but some other structures as well, methamphetamine craving, and compulsive drug-seeking behaviors have been linked [56].…”