Association between cannabinoid 1 receptor availability and glutamate levels in healthy controls and drug-free patients with first episode psychosis: a multi-modal PET and 1H-MRS study.

Association between cannabinoid 1 receptor availability and glutamate levels in healthy controls and drug-free patients with first episode psychosis: a multi-modal PET and 1H-MRS study. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2020 Sep 28;: Authors: Borgan F, Veronese M, Reis Marques T, Lythgoe DJ, Howes O Abstract Cannabinoid 1 receptor and glutamatergic dysfunction have both been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. However, it remains unclear if cannabinoid 1 receptor alterations shown in drug-naïve/free patients with first episode psychosis may be linked to glutamatergic alterations in the illness. We aimed to investigate glutamate levels and cannabinoid 1 receptor levels in the same region in patients with first episode psychosis. Forty volunteers (20 healthy volunteers, 20 drug-naïve/free patients with first episode psychosis diagnosed with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder) were included in the study. Glutamate levels were measured using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. CB1R availability was indexed using the distribution volume (VT (ml/cm3)) of [11C]MePPEP using arterial blood sampling. There were no significant associations between ACC CB1R levels and ACC glutamate levels in controls (R = - 0.24, p = 0.32) or patients (R = - 0.10, p = 0.25). However, ACC glutamate levels were negatively associated with CB1R availability in the striatum (R = - 0.50, p = 0.02) and hippocampus (...
Source: European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience - Category: Psychiatry Tags: Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci Source Type: research