Abstract
BackgroundTo investigate the WM microstructure deficits in heroin dependent individuals (HDIs) with different length of heroin dependence, and to investigate whether these WM deficits can be related to the duration of heroin use and to decision-making deficits in HDIs.Methodology/Principal FindingsThirty-six HDIs [including eighteen sHDIs (duration of heroin dependent is less than 10 years) and eighteen lHDIs (duration of dependent is between 10∼20 years)] and sixteen healthy controls participated in this study. Whole brain voxel-wise analysis of fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (Da) and radial diffusivity (Dr) were performed by tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) to localize abnormal WM regions among groups. TBSS demonstrated that sHDIs had significantly lower FA than controls in right orbito-frontal WM, bilateral temporal WM and right parietal WM. The lHDIs had significantly lower FA throughout the brain compared with the controls and sHDIs. The lHDIs had significantly lower Da than controls in bilateral inferior frontaloccipital fasciculus, bilateral splenium of corpus callosum, left inferior longitudinal fasciculus, and had significantly higher Dr than controls in bilateral uncinatus fasciculus, bilateral inferior frontaloccipital fasciculus and bilateral cortical spinal fasciculus. Volume-of-interest (VOI) analyses detect the changes of diffusivity indices in the regions with FA abnormalities revealed by control vs sHDIs. In most VOIs, FA reductions were caused by the increase in Dr as well as the decrease in Da. Correlation analysis was used to assess the relationship between FA and behavioral measures in HDIs and controls available. Significantly positively correlations were found between the FA values in the right orbital-frontal WM, right parietal WM and IGT performance.ConclusionsThe extent and severity of WM integrity deficits in HDIs was associated with the length of heroin dependent. Furthermore, abnormal WM microstructure may correlate with decision-making impairments in HDIs.
Highlights
Drug addiction is a chronically relapsing brain disease, characterized by the failure to resist one’s impulses to obtain and take certain types of addictive drugs despite serious negative consequences [1]
The extent and severity of white matter (WM) integrity deficits in heroin dependent individuals (HDIs) was associated with the length of heroin dependent
Abnormal WM microstructure may correlate with decision-making impairments in HDIs
Summary
Drug addiction is a chronically relapsing brain disease, characterized by the failure to resist one’s impulses to obtain and take certain types of addictive drugs despite serious negative consequences [1]. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) [2,3,4], positron emission tomography (PET) [5] and electroencephalogram [6] studies have demonstrated aberrant functional connectivity in rest [2,3,4,6] and in active tasks such as drug craving [5], decision making [7] and inhibitory control [8] in chronic heroin dependent individuals (HDI). DTI is a non-invasive MRI technique which is sensitive to the self-diffusion of water molecules It provides measures of white matter microstructure in vivo [9]. In Liu et al’s study [12], the average time of heroin consumption was 5.6 years, but it was 8.9 years in Bora et al’s study [13] Both of the two studies had revealed local FA values/axial diffusivity (Da) values were negatively correlated with the duration of heroin abuse. To investigate the WM microstructure deficits in heroin dependent individuals (HDIs) with different length of heroin dependence, and to investigate whether these WM deficits can be related to the duration of heroin use and to decision-making deficits in HDIs
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
