BACKGROUND: Structural deficiencies within limbic and prefrontal regions may contribute to the characteristic drug-seeking and drug-taking behaviors that prevail in persons dependent on cocaine. To date, a focal structural analysis of the brains of cocaine patients has not been undertaken. METHODS: We used voxel based morphometry in conjunction with statistical parametric mapping on the structural magnetic resonance images of cocaine-dependent (n = 13) and cocaine-naive individuals (n = 16) to assess differences between the two groups in gray and white matter concentration. RESULTS: We report a decrease in gray matter concentration in the ventromedial orbitofrontal, anterior cingulate, anteroventral insular, and superior temporal cortices of cocaine patients in comparison to controls (p <.01 corrected for multiple comparisons). The average percentage decrease in gray matter concentration within a region ranged from 5% to 11%. White matter concentration did not differ between groups. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the brains of cocaine patients are structurally dissimilar from those of nondrug-using controls. The differences were detected in regions involved in decision-making, behavioral inhibition and assignation of emotional valence to environmental stimuli and, hence, may contribute to some of the behavioral deficits characteristic of chronic cocaine users.
BACKGROUND:Structural deficiencies within limbic and prefrontal regions may contribute to the characteristic drug-seeking and drug-taking behaviors that prevail in persons dependent on cocaine. To date, a focal structural analysis of the brains of cocainepatients has not been undertaken. METHODS: We used voxel based morphometry in conjunction with statistical parametric mapping on the structural magnetic resonance images of cocaine-dependent (n = 13) and cocaine-naive individuals (n = 16) to assess differences between the two groups in gray and white matter concentration. RESULTS: We report a decrease in gray matter concentration in the ventromedial orbitofrontal, anterior cingulate, anteroventral insular, and superior temporal cortices of cocainepatients in comparison to controls (p <.01 corrected for multiple comparisons). The average percentage decrease in gray matter concentration within a region ranged from 5% to 11%. White matter concentration did not differ between groups. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the brains of cocainepatients are structurally dissimilar from those of nondrug-using controls. The differences were detected in regions involved in decision-making, behavioral inhibition and assignation of emotional valence to environmental stimuli and, hence, may contribute to some of the behavioral deficits characteristic of chronic cocaine users.
Authors: G B Frisoni; C Testa; A Zorzan; F Sabattoli; A Beltramello; H Soininen; M P Laakso Journal: J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry Date: 2002-12 Impact factor: 10.154
Authors: Robert Whelan; Patricia J Conrod; Jean-Baptiste Poline; Anbarasu Lourdusamy; Tobias Banaschewski; Gareth J Barker; Mark A Bellgrove; Christian Büchel; Mark Byrne; Tarrant D R Cummins; Mira Fauth-Bühler; Herta Flor; Jürgen Gallinat; Andreas Heinz; Bernd Ittermann; Karl Mann; Jean-Luc Martinot; Edmund C Lalor; Mark Lathrop; Eva Loth; Frauke Nees; Tomas Paus; Marcella Rietschel; Michael N Smolka; Rainer Spanagel; David N Stephens; Maren Struve; Benjamin Thyreau; Sabine Vollstaedt-Klein; Trevor W Robbins; Gunter Schumann; Hugh Garavan Journal: Nat Neurosci Date: 2012-06 Impact factor: 24.884
Authors: David Matuskey; Zubin Bhagwagar; Beata Planeta; Brian Pittman; Jean-Dominique Gallezot; Jason Chen; Jane Wanyiri; Soheila Najafzadeh; Jim Ropchan; Paul Geha; Yiyun Huang; Marc N Potenza; Alexander Neumeister; Richard E Carson; Robert T Malison Journal: Biol Psychiatry Date: 2013-11-28 Impact factor: 13.382