Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 24, 2025

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study
07:30

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study

Published on: August 18, 2020

7.3K

Gray-matter structure in long-term abstinent methamphetamine users.

Lili Nie1, Zeyong Zhao2, Xiantao Wen3

  • 1Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610041, China.

BMC Psychiatry
|April 11, 2020
PubMed
Summary

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Hypertension Control in Low-Income Patients.

The New England journal of medicine·2026
Same author

Cell-based screen identifies translation state modulators that extend lifespan in D. melanogaster and C. elegans.

The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences·2026
Same author

Hydroxyl Radical-Driven Methanogenesis in Sunlit Surface Waters.

Environmental science & technology·2026
Same author

Development and validation of a predictive model for short-term symptom relief after organophosphate poisoning.

Frontiers in medicine·2026
Same author

Platelet-rich plasma therapy for low back pain: A comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis.

Journal of back and musculoskeletal rehabilitation·2026
Same author

Bidirectional regulation between circadian feeding behavior and specialized midgut clocks in <i>Drosophila</i>.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same journal

Whose suffering counts? Research funding, scientific freedom, and the epistemic erasure of sexual and gender diverse children.

BMC psychiatry·2026
Same journal

Association between gastrointestinal diseases and depression severity among middle-aged and older Chinese women: the mediating effect of sleep duration.

BMC psychiatry·2026
Same journal

Depression and anxiety symptom severity correlates with subjective fatigue characteristics in individuals with anxiety and mood disorders.

BMC psychiatry·2026
Same journal

Developing a core competency framework for community-based psychiatric rehabilitation practitioners in China: a modified Delphi study.

BMC psychiatry·2026
Same journal

The relationship between social media addiction and metacognitions in patients with social anxiety disorder.

BMC psychiatry·2026
Same journal

Next of kin involvement in mental health care services - a systematic participatory overview of evidence syntheses.

BMC psychiatry·2026
See all related articles
This summary is machine-generated.

Methamphetamine use alters brain structure, causing some long-lasting changes like cortical thickening and some that may recover with abstinence, such as volume reductions in specific brain regions.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Radiology
  • Psychiatry

Background:

  • Previous research on methamphetamine users' brain structure yielded inconsistent findings.
  • Inconsistencies may stem from small sample sizes, varying abstinence durations, and differing methodologies.
  • This study examines a larger sample of abstinent methamphetamine users across different long-term abstinence stages.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate structural brain differences in chronic methamphetamine users compared to healthy controls.
  • To explore the relationship between duration of abstinence and brain structure.
  • To examine the impact of methamphetamine use duration and age of onset on brain structure.

Main Methods:

  • Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were acquired from 99 chronic methamphetamine users and 86 healthy controls.
Keywords:
AbstinenceGray-matterMagnet resonance imagingMethamphetamineThicknessVolume

More Related Videos

Standardized Data Acquisition for Neuromelanin-Sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Substantia Nigra
05:14

Standardized Data Acquisition for Neuromelanin-Sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Substantia Nigra

Published on: September 8, 2021

4.3K
A General Method for Evaluating Deep Brain Stimulation Effects on Intravenous Methamphetamine Self-Administration
09:16

A General Method for Evaluating Deep Brain Stimulation Effects on Intravenous Methamphetamine Self-Administration

Published on: January 22, 2016

15.6K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Dec 24, 2025

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study
07:30

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study

Published on: August 18, 2020

7.3K
Standardized Data Acquisition for Neuromelanin-Sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Substantia Nigra
05:14

Standardized Data Acquisition for Neuromelanin-Sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Substantia Nigra

Published on: September 8, 2021

4.3K
A General Method for Evaluating Deep Brain Stimulation Effects on Intravenous Methamphetamine Self-Administration
09:16

A General Method for Evaluating Deep Brain Stimulation Effects on Intravenous Methamphetamine Self-Administration

Published on: January 22, 2016

15.6K
  • Gray-matter volumes and cortical thickness were measured using Freesurfer software.
  • Analyses focused on group differences, duration of abstinence, duration of use, and age of onset.

    • Main Results:

    • Methamphetamine users showed smaller gray-matter volume in the right lateral occipital cortex and greater thickness in bilateral superior frontal gyri compared to controls.
    • Abstinence duration positively correlated with gray-matter volumes in the whole brain, accumbens, insulae, and hippocampus, and with insula thickness.
    • Longer duration of methamphetamine use negatively correlated with gray-matter volume and cortical thickness in the right lingual and pericalcarine cortex.

    Conclusions:

    • Chronic methamphetamine use leads to persistent cortical thickening in the frontal lobes and potentially reversible volume reductions in the hippocampus, accumbens, and insular regions.
    • These structural alterations may underlie methamphetamine-induced neurocognitive deficits.
    • The findings suggest a regional specificity in the brain's response to methamphetamine.