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Reduced amygdala and hippocampal volumes in patients with methamphetamine psychosis
Lina Orikabe1, Hidenori Yamasue, Hideyuki Inoue
1Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan.
Abstract:
The similarity between psychotic symptoms in patients with schizophrenia such as hallucinations and delusions and those caused by administration of methamphetamine has been accepted. While the etiology of schizophrenia remains unclear, methamphetamine induced psychosis, which is obviously occurred by methamphetamine administration, had been widely considered as a human pharmaceutical model of exogenous psychosis. Although volume reductions in medial temporal lobe structure in patients with schizophrenia have repeatedly been reported, those in patients with methamphetamine psychosis have not yet been clarified. Magnetic resonance images (MRI) were obtained from 20 patients with methamphetamine psychosis and 20 age, sex, parental socio-economic background, and IQ matched healthy controls. A reliable manual tracing methodology was employed to measure the gray matter volume of the amygdala and the hippocampus from MRIs. Significant gray matter volume reductions of both the amygdala and hippocampus were found bilaterally in the subjects with methamphetamine psychosis compared with the controls. The degree of volume reduction was significantly greater in the amygdala than in hippocampus. While the total gray, white matter and intracranial volumes were also significantly smaller-than-normal in the patients; the regional gray matter volume reductions in these medial temporal structures remained statistically significant even after these global brain volumes being controlled. The prominent volume reduction in amygdala rather than that in hippocampus could be relatively specific characteristics of methamphetamine psychosis, since previous studies have shown significant volume reductions less frequently in amygdala than in hippocampus of the other psychosis such as schizophrenia.
Insights
Methamphetamine psychosis is linked to significant gray matter volume reductions in the amygdala and hippocampus. These medial temporal lobe changes, particularly in the amygdala, may distinguish methamphetamine psychosis from other psychotic disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Radiology
Background:
- Methamphetamine psychosis shares symptoms with schizophrenia, but its neurobiological underpinnings, specifically medial temporal lobe structure, are not well understood.
- Previous research indicates gray matter reductions in schizophrenia patients, but similar data for methamphetamine psychosis is lacking.
- Methamphetamine-induced psychosis is considered a model for exogenous psychosis, making its structural brain changes a key research area.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare gray matter volumes in the amygdala and hippocampus between patients with methamphetamine psychosis and healthy controls.
- To determine if methamphetamine psychosis is associated with structural reductions in medial temporal lobe regions.
- To explore potential differences in the degree of volume reduction between the amygdala and hippocampus in methamphetamine psychosis.
Main Methods:
- Acquisition of magnetic resonance images (MRI) from 20 patients with methamphetamine psychosis and 20 matched healthy controls.
- Utilizing a manual tracing methodology to accurately measure gray matter volume of the amygdala and hippocampus.
- Statistical analysis to compare regional brain volumes between the patient group and the control group, controlling for global brain volumes.
Main Results:
- Significant bilateral gray matter volume reductions in both the amygdala and hippocampus were observed in patients with methamphetamine psychosis compared to controls.
- The reduction in amygdala volume was significantly more pronounced than the reduction in hippocampus volume.
- These regional gray matter reductions remained significant even after accounting for differences in total brain volumes.
Conclusions:
- Methamphetamine psychosis is associated with significant gray matter volume reductions in the amygdala and hippocampus.
- The greater degree of volume reduction in the amygdala compared to the hippocampus may be a specific characteristic of methamphetamine psychosis.
- These findings contribute to understanding the neurobiological differences between methamphetamine psychosis and other psychotic disorders like schizophrenia.
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