Decreased thalamic volumes in adolescent inhalant users from Korea and Australia. (December 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hong, Soon-Beom; Choi, Eun-Jung; Kim, Ho-Hyun; Suh, Jeong-Eun; Takagi, Michael J.; Lubman, Dan I.; Kim, Jae-Won; Kim, Chang-Dai; Yi, Soon-Hyung; Yücel, Murat
• Is Part Of: World journal of biological psychiatry. Volume 15:Number 8(2014)
• Page Start: 636
• Page End: 640
• Publication Date: 2014-12
• Subjects: Biological psychiatry -- Periodicals; Biological Psychiatry -- Periodicals; 616.89
• DOI: 10.3109/15622975.2014.902540
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1562-2975

Abstract

<abstract> <title>Abstract</title> <p> <italic>Objectives.</italic> Research investigating the impact of inhalant misuse on brain structure suggests abnormalities in subcortical regions. We investigated the association between inhalant misuse and subcortical brain volumes in adolescents. <italic>Methods.</italic> Based on a collaborative dataset from South Korea (inhalant users: <italic>N = </italic>15, mean age = 16.7, SD = 1.1; controls: <italic>N = </italic>15, mean age = 15.4, SD = 1.2) and Australia (inhalant users: <italic>N = </italic>7, mean age = 18.2, SD = 1.4; controls: <italic>N = </italic>7, mean age = 18.9, SD = 2.6), the volumes of caudate nucleus, putamen, pallidum, amygdala, hippocampus, and thalamus were estimated in adolescent inhalant users and healthy adolescents using FreeSurfer. <italic>Results.</italic> The results revealed a significantly decreased right thalamic volume in adolescent inhalant users (<italic>P = </italic>0.042), along with a trend-level decrease in left thalamic volume (<italic>P = </italic>0.061). A negative correlation (<italic>r = </italic> –0.544; <italic>P = </italic>0.036) between thalamic volume and severity of inhalant use (i.e., reduced volumes associated with greater use) was identified among Korean participants. <italic>Conclusions.</italic> These findings suggest that compared with other subcortical structures, the thalamus is particularly sensitive to damage following chronic inhalant exposure during adolescence.</p> </abstract>