title: Opioid addiction changes cerebral blood flow symmetry.
abstract: Changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) due to long-term abuse of opioids such as heroin or morphine are not yet fully understood in humans. The goal of the present study was to investigate rCBF alterations in a large sample of long-term opioid addicts in comparison to healthy controls. We investigated 21 opioid-dependent subjects, who were currently abusing heroin or were enrolled in a methadone or morphine maintenance program, and 36 healthy controls with (99m)Tc-HMPAO single photon emission computed tomography. We found a decrease in rCBF in most regions of interest in patients in comparison to controls. Long-term opioid dependence seems to decrease prefrontal CBF in particular. A right-greater-than-left CBF asymmetry in healthy subjects was reversed in patients. This change in CBF symmetry could reflect the different emotional status of opioid-dependent patients. Our findings are in line with neuropsychological investigations indicating a correlation of mood states with lateralization of hemispheric activation patterns.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Psychiatry, University of Vienna, Austria. Lukas.Pezawas@akh-wein.ac.at
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pezawas
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Fischer
authors.forename: Ivo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Podreka
authors.forename: Shird
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schindler
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brücke
authors.forename: Reinhold
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jagsch
authors.forename: Maida
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thurnher
authors.forename: Siegfried
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kasper
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006556:Heroin Dependence / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008691:Methadone / Q000008:administration & dosage; D009021:Morphine Dependence / Q000503:physiopathology; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000098:blood supply; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
chemical_list: D008691:Methadone