Brain 2010;133(7):2098-2114
Upadhyay, Jaymin | Maleki, Nasim | Potter, Jennifer Sharpe | Elman, Igor | Rudrauf, David | Knudsen, Jaime | Wallin, Diane | Pendse, Gautam | McDonald, Leah | Griffin, Margaret L. | Anderson, Julie | Nutile, Lauren | Renshaw, Perry | Weiss, Roger D. | Becerra, Lino | Borsook, David
This is the outcomes article for CTN-0030-A-2. A dramatic increase in the use and dependence of prescription opioids has occurred within the last 10 years. The consequences of long-term prescription opioid use and dependence on the brain are largely unknown, and any speculation is inferred from heroin and methadone studies. To look for data directly demonstrating the effects of long-term prescription opioid use on the brain, this study used structural magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion tensor imaging, and resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging in 10 prescription opioid-dependent patients from protocol CTN-0030 and 10 matched healthy individuals. Criteria for patient selection included: (1) no dependence on alcohol or other drugs; (2) no comorbid psychiatric or neurologic disease; and (3) no medical conditions, including pain. Findings suggest that prescription opioid dependence is associated with structural and functional changes in brain regions implicated in the regulation of affect and impulse control, including bilateral volumetric loss in the amygdala and significantly decreased anisotropy in axonal pathways specific to the amygdala, as well as in reward and motivational functions. Longer duration of prescription opioid exposure was associated with greater changes in functional connectivity. These results may have important clinical implications for uncovering the effects of long-term prescription opioid use on brain structure and function.
Keywords: CTN platform/ancillary study | Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) | Neurological effects | Prescription-type opiates | Brain (journal)
Document No: 489 ; PMID: 20558415 ; PMCID: PMC2912691
Submitted by: CTN Dissemination Librarians (7/13/2010)