Structural connectivity in adolescent synthetic cannabinoid users with and without ADHD.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Addiction Research
• Adolescent Psychiatry

Background:

• Synthetic cannabinoids (SC) are increasingly prevalent among adolescents.
• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is overrepresented in adolescent substance use populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate structural brain network topology in adolescent SC users compared to controls.
• To examine the impact of ADHD comorbidity on SC users' brain network topology.

Main Methods:

• Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) scans were acquired from 27 SC users (14 without ADHD, 13 with ADHD) and 13 controls.
• Network-based statistic and connectomic analysis were employed to examine structural networks.

Main Results:

• SC users without ADHD displayed significantly weaker bilateral connectivity, particularly in left parietal-occipital regions, compared to controls.
• SC users with ADHD showed stronger structural connectivity than controls.
• Adolescent SC users with ADHD exhibited reduced network organization (lower clustering coefficient and modularity) compared to those without ADHD and controls.

Conclusions:

• ADHD comorbidity in SC users is associated with distinct structural brain connectivity alterations compared to SC use alone.
• Findings highlight the importance of considering ADHD when studying connectivity in adolescent substance use populations.
• Disparate connectivity profiles underscore the need for tailored research approaches accounting for comorbid ADHD.