Volumetric brain abnormalities in polysubstance use disorder patients

Cemal Onur Noyan,1 Samet Kose,2 Serdar Nurmedov,3 Baris Metin,1 Aslı Enez Darcin,4 Nesrin Dilbaz1 1Department of Psychology, Uskudar University, Istanbul, Turkey; 2Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addictions, University of Texas Medical School, Houston, TX, USA; 3Acibadem Healthcare Group, 4Department of Psychiatry, Kanuni Sultan Suleyman Research and Training Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey Aim: Polysubstance users represent the largest group of patients seeking treatment at addiction and rehabilitation clinics in Turkey. There is little knowledge about the structural brain abnormalities seen in polysubstance users. This study was conducted to examine the structural brain differences between polysubstance use disorder patients and healthy control subjects using voxel-based morphometry.Methods: Forty-six male polysubstance use disorder patients in the early abstinence period and 30 healthy male controls underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging scans. Voxel-based morphometry analysis was performed to examine gray matter (GM) abnormality differences.Results: Polysubstance use disorder patients displayed significantly smaller GM volume in the thalamus, temporal pole, superior frontal gyrus, cerebellum, gyrus rectus, occipital lobe, anterior cingulate cortex, superior temporal gyrus, and postcentral gyrus.Conclusion: A widespread and smaller GM volume has been found at different regions of the frontal, temporal, occipital, and parietal lobes, cerebellum, and anterior cingulate cortex in polysubstance users. Keywords: early abstinence, gray matter volume, polysubstance use disorders, voxel-based morphometr