Presumed structural and functional neural recovery after long-term abstinence from cocaine in male military veterans

Publication date: 8 June 2018 Source:Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry, Volume 84, Part A Author(s): Qinghua He, Xiaolu Huang, Ofir Turel, Marya Schulte, David Huang, April Thames, Antoine Bechara, Yih-Ing Hser Cumulative evidence suggests that cocaine use could alter the structure and function of different brain systems. However, the extent to which the altered brain structure and function possibly recover over time after cocaine abstinence remains less clear. The present study examines 39 male military veterans with different stages of cocaine addiction and long-term abstinence (from 1 year up to 30 years) and evaluates plausible changes in brain structure and function of specific brain regions that sub-serve addictions. These include the striatum that is involved in cocaine reward; the lateral prefrontal cortex (especially the dorsolateral PFC) that plays a major role in inhibitory control; the insula, which has been implicated in craving; and the medial orbitofrontal (OFC) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) shown to play key roles in foresight and decision-making. The results suggest that there are differences in both brain structure (gray matter volume, GMV) and function between cocaine USERS and CONTROLS, with USERS showing plausible relative strengthening in neural systems for processing reward and craving, and relative weakening in neural systems involved in inhibitory control and decision-making. Examination of possi...
Source: Progress in Neuro Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research