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 language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 727-728 |
| Number of pages | 2 |
| Journal | Addiction Biology |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2013 |
User-Defined Keywords
- Cingulate gyrus
- diffusion tensor imaging
- fractional anisotropy
- frontal gyrus
- heroin addiction
- white matter
