title: Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging reveals distinct brain activity in heavy cannabis users - a multi-voxel pattern analysis.
abstract: Chronic cannabis use can cause cognitive, perceptual and personality alterations, which are believed to be associated with regional brain changes and possible changes in connectivity between functional regions. This study aims to identify the changes from resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. A two-level multi-voxel pattern analysis was proposed to classify male cannabis users from normal controls. The first level analysis works on a voxel basis and identifies clusters for the input of a second level analysis, which works on the functional connectivity between these regions. We found distinct clusters for male cannabis users in the middle frontal gyrus, precentral gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex, cerebellum and some other regions. Based on the functional connectivity of these clusters, a high overall accuracy rate of 84-88% in classification accuracy was achieved. High correlations were also found between the overall classification accuracy and Barrett Barrett Impulsiveness Scale factor scores of attention and motor. Our result suggests regional differences in the brains of male cannabis users that span from the cerebellum to the prefrontal cortex, which are associated with differences in functional connectivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA hucheng@indiana.edu.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, The Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Skosnik
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Pruce
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, The Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Brumbaugh
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, The Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Vollmer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Fridberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.
authors.forename: B F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: O'Donnell
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.
authors.forename: W P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Hetrick
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Newman
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D013759:Dronabinol / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000652:urine; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D002189:Marijuana Abuse / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D012146:Rest / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D013759:Dronabinol
keywords: Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging; cannabis; multi-voxel pattern analysis