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Decreased frontal white-matter integrity in abstinent methamphetamine abusers
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- Authors
- Issue Date
- 2006-12-07
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Citation
- International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology 10, 765-775
- Keywords
- Diffusion tensor ; frontal lobe ; methamphetamine ; white matter
- Abstract
- This study explored differences in frontal white-matter (WM) integrity between methamphetamine (MA)
abusers and healthy comparison subjects using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Fractional anisotropy (FA)
values, which indicate WM integrity, were calculated for regions-of-interest in frontal WM on diffusion
tensor images of 32 MA abusers and 30 healthy comparison subjects. Frontal executive functions were also
assessed by the Wisconsin Card Sorting test (WCST). MA abusers had significantly lower FA values in
bilateral frontal WM at the anterior commissure–posterior commissure (AC–PC) plane and the right
frontal WM 5 mm above the AC–PC plane relative to healthy comparison subjects. MA abusers had more
total, perseveration and non-perseveration errors in the WCST relative to healthy comparison subjects. FA
values of the right frontal WM 5 mm above the AC–PC plane negatively correlated with the number of
total and non-perseveration errors in the WCST in MA abusers. In the sub-analysis for gender differences,
lower FA values in frontalWMand more errors in the WCST were found only in male MA abusers, not in
female MA abusers, relative to comparison subjects of the respective gender. We report that frontal WM
integrity of MA abusers is compromised. This finding may also be related to impairment in frontal
executive function. In addition, the neurotoxic effect of MA on frontal WM may be less prominent in
women than in men, possibly due to oestrogens neuroprotective effect.
- ISSN
- 1461-1457 (print)
1469-5111 (online)
- Language
- English
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