Multidimensional 3T structural magnetic resonance imaging study of individuals with methamphetamine use disorder: extensive structural abnormalities in frontal cortex and their relationship to cognitive function

Background: Methamphetamine (MA) is widely abused worldwide, but the brain imaging mechanisms underlying its cognitive function are unclear. This study aimed to explore the cognitive function characteristics of individuals with MA use disorders (MUDs) and their relationship with structural brain images from a multidimensional perspective. Methods 45 MUDs and 43 health control (HCs) were included in this study. The MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery was performed to assess the cognitive function among the subjects, and a 3.0T magnetic resonance imaging scanner was utilized for structural data acquisition. Results Compared with the HC group, the MUD group had small gray matter volume in the left middle frontal, right insula, left postcentral, and bilateral angular gyrus, while the left superior frontal, left precentral, left postcentral, left supramarginal, left parstriangularis, and left parsopercularis had thin cortical thickness (P FDR -corr  100). The digit-symbol coding test (DSCT) regression model demonstrated a significant interaction of the group with the cortical thickness of the left parsopercularis (p = 0.04) and left precentral (p = 0.01). For neuropsychology assessment battery-mazes (NAB-Mazes), cortical thickness of the left parsopercularis was positively correlated with NAB-Mazes scores (p = 0.02), and the group interaction was significant (p = 0.001). For the continuous performance test (CPT), cortical thickness of the left superior frontal was negatively correlated with CPT scores (p = 0.03). Conclusion MUDs exhibit altered gray matter morphology in several brain regions, where alterations in frontal cortex thickness may underlie the neuroanatomy of cognitive deficits common to MUDs.