P300 event-related potential in abstinent methamphetamine-dependent patients

Abstract

BackgroundSubstance use and abuse are characterized by biases in the attentional processing of substance-related stimuli. There are no event related potential (ERP)-based studies of attentional bias for substance-related cues among methamphetamine (MA) dependent patients. The study aimed to measure changes in P300 event-related potentials elicited by MA-related words in MA-dependent individuals at baseline and after 3 and 6months of abstinence, examining the relationship of ERP changes to craving. Method26 MA-dependent patients (14 male) newly enrolled in two compulsory treatment centers in China and 29 healthy controls (15 male) were included in this study. At baseline (2–3weeks in treatment) and after 3 and 6months of abstinence from MA use, we obtained ERP data during a Stroop color-matching task using MA-related and neutral words. Self-reported craving was measured by a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). FindingsIncreased P300 amplitudes elicited by MA-related words were observed over left-anterior electrode sites. Abnormal P300 amplitudes declined to the normal levels of healthy controls at the end of 3months of abstinence, and the decrease was maintained up to the end of 6months of abstinence. The behavioral data did not show similar changes. The positive relationship between the changes of VAS scores for MA craving and the changes of P300 amplitudes over left anterior electrode sites elicited by MA-related words within the first 3months was significant. ConclusionThese findings highlight the potential use of ERP as an objective index to track changes in subjective MA craving among abstinent MA-dependent patients.