Brain morphometric abnormalities and their associations with affective symptoms in males with methamphetamine use disorder during abstinence

Xinyue Hu; Ping Jiang; Yingxue Gao; Jiayu Sun; Xiaobo Zhou; Lianqing Zhang; Hui Qiu; Hailong Li; Lingxiao Cao; Jing Liu; Qiyong Gong; Xiaoqi Huang

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1003889

Brain morphometric abnormalities and their associations with affective symptoms in males with methamphetamine use disorder during abstinence

Front Psychiatry. 2022 Oct 10:13:1003889. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1003889. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Xinyue Hu^{1

2}, Ping Jiang^{1

2

3}, Yingxue Gao^{1

2}, Jiayu Sun⁴, Xiaobo Zhou⁵, Lianqing Zhang^{1

2}, Hui Qiu^{1

2}, Hailong Li^{1

2}, Lingxiao Cao^{1

2}, Jing Liu^{1

2}, Qiyong Gong^{1

2}, Xiaoqi Huang^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Department of Radiology, Huaxi Magnetic Resonance Research Center (HMRRC), West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
² Psychoradiology Research Unit of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
³ West China Medical Publishers, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
⁴ Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
⁵ Department of Psychosomatics, Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, Chengdu, China.

Abstract

Background: Methamphetamine (METH) use induces neurotoxic effects in brain structures and affective symptoms that persist during abstinence. However, the brain morphometry of individuals with METH use disorder (MUD) remains unclear, as well as their associations with affective symptoms during abstinence.

Methods: Forty-eight abstinent males with MUD and 66 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs) underwent high-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Cortical thickness, surface area, volume, local gyrification index (LGI), and subcortical volume were obtained with FreeSurfer software. Brain morphometry differences between groups and their associations with affective symptoms and drug abuse history within the males with MUD were examined, with intracranial volume, age, and years of education as covariates.

Results: Compared with the HCs, the individuals with MUD showed a significantly higher LGI in the right cuneus gyrus, left lingual gyrus, bilateral supramarginal gyrus, right inferior parietal gyrus (IPG), and right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (clusterwise p < 0.05, Monte Carlo-corrected), as well as a smaller volume of the left nucleus accumbens (NAcc) (p < 0.05, FDR-corrected). However, there were no significant group differences in cortical thickness, area or volume. In addition, the LGI in the right IPG was positively associatedwith the severity of depression and anxiety symptoms in MUDs (p < 0.05, FDR-corrected).

Conclusion: Brain morphometric abnormalities in abstinent males with MUD were characterized by hypergyrification across multiple mid-posterior brain regions anda smaller volume of the left NAcc.Gyrification of the right IPG may be a potential neural substrate underlying the affective symptoms experienced by MUDs during abstinence.

Keywords: abstinence; affective symptoms; cortical morphometry; methamphetamine use disorder; subcortical volume.