Reversible brain white matter microstructure changes in heroin addicts: a longitudinal study

Xuyi Wang, Rongjun Yu, Xuhui Zhou, Yanhui Liao, Jinsong Tang, Tieqiao Liu, Baoci Shan, Wei Hao*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Previous neuroimaging studies have documented the structural damage in heroin addicts. However, little research has detailed the white matter microstructural changes in the human brain as a result of chronic heroin use and importantly, whether such changes can be recovered after short-term abstinence. Decreased fractional anisotropy values in frontal cortex were found in heroin users after 3 days of abstinence in comparison with controls. However, no significant difference was found between these heroin addicts and controls after 1-month abstinence. These results might better our understanding of the biological basis of drug addiction and provide insight into addiction treatment.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)727-728
Number of pages2
JournalAddiction Biology
Volume18
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2013

User-Defined Keywords

  • Cingulate gyrus
  • diffusion tensor imaging
  • fractional anisotropy
  • frontal gyrus
  • heroin addiction
  • white matter

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