Background

Cannabis is the most frequently used illicit drug worldwide. Although multiple structural MRI studies of individuals with cannabis use (CB) have been undertaken, the reports of the volume alterations in the amygdala, hippocampus, and pallidum are not consistent. This study aims to detect subregion-level morphological alterations, analyze the correlation areas with cannabis usage characteristics, and gain new insights into the neuro mechanisms of CB.

Methods

By leveraging the novel surface-based subcortical morphometry method, 20 CB and 22 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC) were included to explore their volumetric and morphological differences in the three subcortical structures. Afterward, the correlation analysis between surface morphological eigenvalues and cannabis usage characteristics was performed.

Results

Compared with volumetric measures, the surface-based subcortical morphometry method detected more significant global morphological deformations in the left amygdala, right hippocampus, and right pallidum (overall-p < 0.05, corrected). More obvious morphological alterations (atrophy or expansion) were observed in specific subregions (vertex-based p-value<0.05, uncorrected) of the three subcortical structures. Both positive and negative subregional correlation areas were reported by the correlation analysis.

Conclusions

The current study illuminated new pathophysiologic mechanisms in the amygdala, hippocampus, and pallidum at the subregion level, which may inform the subsequent smaller-scale CB research.

中文翻译：

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吸食大麻的人与杏仁核、海马体和苍白球分区域的广泛形态学改变有关

背景

大麻是全世界最常用的非法药物。尽管对使用大麻 (CB) 的个体进行了多项结构 MRI 研究，但关于杏仁核、海马体和苍白球体积改变的报告并不一致。本研究旨在检测亚区域水平的形态学改变，分析与大麻使用特征相关的区域，并获得对 CB 神经机制的新见解。

方法

通过利用新的基于表面的皮质下形态测量法，包括 20 个 CB 和 22 个年龄和性别匹配的健康对照 (HC)，以探索它们在三个皮质下结构中的体积和形态差异。之后，进行了表面形态特征值与大麻使用特征之间的相关性分析。

结果

与体积测量相比，基于表面的皮层下形态测量法在左侧杏仁核、右侧海马体和右侧苍白球中检测到更显着的全局形态变形（总体 p < 0.05，已校正）。在三个皮层下结构的特定子区域（基于顶点的 p 值 <0.05，未校正）观察到更明显的形态学改变（萎缩或扩张）。相关分析报告了正负次区域相关区域。

结论

目前的研究在亚区域水平阐明了杏仁核、海马体和苍白球的新病理生理机制，这可能为随后的小规模 CB 研究提供信息。