Cortical thickness and related depressive symptoms in early abstinence from chronic methamphetamine use

Methamphetamine use is surging globally as a cause of morbidity and mortality. Treatment is typically sought in early abstinence, when craving and depressive symptoms are intense, contributing to relapse and poor outcomes. To advance an understanding of this problem and identify therapeutic targets, we conducted a retrospective analysis of brain structure in 89 adults with Methamphetamine Use Disorder who were in early abstinence and 89 healthy controls. Unlike most prior research, the participants did not significantly differ in age, sex and recent use of alcohol and tobacco (p-values ≥ 0.400). We analysed thickness across the entire cerebral cortex by fitting a general linear model to identify differences between groups. Follow-up regressions were performed to determine whether cortical thickness in regions showing group differences was related to craving, measured on a visual analogue scale, or to the Beck Depression Inventory score. Participants in early methamphetamine abstinence (M ± SD = 22.1 ± 25.6 days) exhibited thinner cortex in clusters within bilateral frontal, parietal, temporal, insular, and right cingulate cortices relative to controls (p-values < 0.001, corrected for multiple comparisons). Unlike craving (β = 0.007, p = 0.947), depressive symptoms were positively correlated with cortical thickness across clusters (β = 0.239, p = 0.030) and with thickness in the anterior cingulate cluster (β = 0.246, p = 0.027) in the methamphetamine-dependent group. Inasmuch as anterior cingulate pathology predicts response to antidepressants for Major Depressive Disorder, cingulate structure may also identify patients with Methamphetamine Use Disorder who can benefit from antidepressant medication.