Quantitative morphology of the caudate and putamen in patients with cocaine dependence.
OBJECTIVE
Deficits in dopaminergic function may contribute to hypertrophy of striatal structures associated with typical neuroleptic treatment. In light of a body of research that has associated chronic cocaine use with extrapyramidal symptoms and striatal dopaminergic depletion, the authors looked for evidence of striatal dysmorphology in patients with chronic cocaine dependence.


METHODS
Caudate, putamen, and total brain volumes were quantified by means of magnetic resonance imaging in 25 cocaine-dependent and 20 healthy subjects.


RESULTS
Normalized caudate and putamen volumes were 3.40% and 9.18% larger, respectively, in the cocaine-dependent subjects.


CONCLUSIONS
These observations suggest that deficits in dopaminergic function associated with cocaine dependence may contribute to striatal hypertrophy.
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Conn., USA. leslie.jacobsen@yale.edu
L K
LK
Jacobsen
J N
JN
Giedd
C
C
Gottschalk
T R
TR
Kosten
J H
JH
Krystal
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000473:pathology; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006984:Hypertrophy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011699:Putamen / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
D004298:Dopamine