Characterization of white matter integrity deficits in cocaine‐dependent individuals with substance‐induced psychosis compared with non‐psychotic cocaine users. (1st February 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Willi, Taylor S.; Barr, Alasdair M.; Gicas, Kristina; Lang, Donna J.; Vila‐Rodriguez, Fidel; Su, Wayne; Thornton, Allen E.; Leonova, Olga; Giesbrecht, Chantelle J.; Procyshyn, Ric M.; Rauscher, Alexander; MacEwan, William G.; Honer, William G.; Panenka, William J.
• Is Part Of: Addiction biology. Volume 22:Number 3(2017)
• Page Start: 873
• Page End: 881
• Publication Date: 2016-02-01
• Subjects: cocaine‐associated psychosis -- diffusion tensor imaging -- psychosis -- substance‐induced psychosis -- TBSS -- white matter; Substance abuse -- Periodicals; Substance abuse -- Physiological aspects -- Periodicals; Substance-Related Disorders -- periodicals; 616.86
• DOI: 10.1111/adb.12363
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1355-6215

Abstract

Abstract: With sufficient drug exposure, some individuals develop transient psychotic symptoms referred to as 'substance‐induced psychosis' (SIP), which closely resemble the symptoms observed in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. The comparability in psychotic presentation between SIP and the schizophrenias suggests that similar underlying neural deficits may contribute to the emergence of psychosis across these disorders. Only a small number of studies have investigated structural alterations in SIP, and all have been limited to volumetric imaging methods, with none controlling for the effects of chronic drug exposure. To investigate white matter abnormalities associated with SIP, diffusion tensor imaging was employed in a group of individuals with cocaine‐associated psychosis (CAP; n = 24) and a cocaine‐dependent non‐psychotic (CDN) group ( n = 43). Tract‐based spatial statistics was used to investigate group differences in white matter diffusion parameters. The CAP group showed significantly lower fractional anisotropy values than the CDN group ( p < 0.05) in voxels within white matter tracts of fronto‐temporal, fronto‐thalamic and interhemispheric pathways. The greatest differences in white matter integrity were present in the corpus callosum, corona radiata, bilateral superior longitudinal fasciculi and bilateral inferior longitudinal fasciculi. Additionally, the CAP group had voxels of significantly higher radial diffusivity in a subset of the previously mentioned pathways. These results are the first description of white matter integrity abnormalities in a SIP sample and indicate that differences in these pathways may be a shared factor in the expression of different forms of psychosis. Abstract : Similarity in psychotic presentation between substance‐induced psychosis and schizophrenia spectrum disorders suggests that similar neural deficits contribute to the expression of psychosis across these disorders. Diffusion tensor imaging was employed to investigate white matter abnormalities in a cocaine‐associated psychosis group (n = 24) compared with a cocaine‐dependent non‐psychotic group (n = 43). Voxels within white matter tracts of fronto‐temporal, fronto‐thalamic and interhemispheric pathways had significantly lower fractional anisotropy values in the psychosis group, similar to pathways altered in schizophrenia spectrum disorders.