Reduction in cerebral perfusion after heroin administration: a resting state arterial spin labeling study

• Published in: PloS one 2013-09, Vol.8 (9), p.e71461
• Main Authors: Denier, Niklaus, Gerber, Hana, Vogel, Marc, Klarhöfer, Markus, Riecher-Rossler, Anita, Wiesbeck, Gerhard A, Lang, Undine E, Borgwardt, Stefan, Walter, Marc
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Alcohol; Blood pressure; Brain; Brain mapping; Cerebral Arteries - drug effects; Cerebral Arteries - physiopathology; Cortex (cingulate); Cross-Over Studies; Drug dosages; Echo surveys; Female; Gyrus Cinguli - blood supply; Gyrus Cinguli - drug effects; Hemispheres; Heroin; Heroin - administration & dosage; Heroin Dependence - drug therapy; Heroin Dependence - physiopathology; Heroin Dependence - psychology; Humans; Labeling; Labelling; Magnetic resonance; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Medical imaging; Narcotics; Narcotics - administration & dosage; Neural networks; Neuroimaging; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Patients; Perfusion; Pharmacology; Physiology; Prefrontal cortex; Prefrontal Cortex - blood supply; Prefrontal Cortex - drug effects; Psychiatry; Regional Blood Flow - drug effects; Single-Blind Method; Spin labeling; Statistical analysis
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0071461

Heroin dependence is a chronic relapsing brain disorder, characterized by the compulsion to seek and use heroin. Heroin itself has a strong potential to produce subjective experiences characterized by intense euphoria, relaxation and release from craving. The neurofunctional foundations of these perceived effects are not well known. In this study, we have used pharmacological magnetic resonance imaging (phMRI) in 15 heroin-dependent patients from a stable heroin-assisted treatment program to observe the steady state effects of heroin (60 min after administration). Patients were scanned in a cross-over and placebo controlled design. They received an injection of their regular dose of heroin or saline (placebo) before or after the scan. As phMRI method, we used a pulsed arterial spin labeling (ASL) sequence based on a flow-sensitive alternating inversion recovery (FAIR) spin labeling scheme combined with a single-shot 3D GRASE (gradient-spin echo) readout on a 3 Tesla scanner. Analysis was performed with Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM 8), using a general linear model for whole brain comparison between the heroin and placebo conditions. We found that compared to placebo, heroin was associated with reduced perfusion in the left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the left medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and in the insula (both hemispheres). Analysis of extracted perfusion values indicate strong effect sizes and no gender related differences. Reduced perfusion in these brain areas may indicate self- and emotional regulation effects of heroin in maintenance treatment.