title: Cerebral metabolism and mood in remitted opiate dependence.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Opiate-dependent individuals are prone to dysphoria that may contribute to treatment failure. Methadone-maintenance therapy (MMT) may mitigate this vulnerability, but controversy surrounds its long-term use. Little is known about the neurobiology of mood dysregulation in individuals receiving or removed from MMT.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen opiate-abstinent and 12 methadone-maintained, opiate-dependent subjects, who lacked other Axis I pathology, and 13 control subjects were compared on the Cornell Dysthymia Rating Scale (CDRS) and regional cerebral glucose metabolism (rCMRglc) using [(18)F]fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CDRS scores showed no group differences. Opiate-abstinent subjects had lower rCMRglc than control subjects in the bilateral perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), left mid-cingulate cortex, left insula and right superior frontal cortex. Methadone-maintained subjects exhibited lower rCMRglc than control subjects in the left insula and thalamus. In opiate-abstinent subjects, rCMRglc in the left perigenual ACC and mid-cingulate cortex correlated positively with CDRS scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In remitted heroin dependence, opiate-abstinence is associated with more widespread patterns of abnormal cortical activity than MMT. Aberrant mood processing in the left perigenual ACC and mid-cingulate cortex, seen in opiate-abstinent individuals, is absent in those receiving MMT, suggesting that methadone may improve mood regulation in this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Beth Israel Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, First Avenue at 16th Street, New York, NY 10003, USA. igalynker@bethisraelny.org
authors.forename: Igor I
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Galynker
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Eisenberg
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Matochik
authors.forename: Enid
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gertmenian-King
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.forename: Alane S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Kimes
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Contoreggi
authors.forename: Varughese
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kurian
authors.forename: Monique
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ernst
authors.forename: Richard N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Rosenthal
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Prosser
authors.forename: Edythe D
authors.initials: ED
authors.lastname: London
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D019263:Dysthymic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008691:Methadone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009294:Narcotics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D012074:Remission Induction; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D009294:Narcotics; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D008691:Methadone