Brain connectivity patterns associated with duration of abstinence in methamphetamine use disorder
G. Zhong, M. N. Potenza, J. Du, M. ZhaoIntroduction
Methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) represents a significant public health crisis characterized by neurobiological abnormalities. While neurofunctional variations across abstinence stages are documented, brain connectivity patterns associated with abstinence duration remain poorly characterized.
Objectives
In this cross-sectional study, we characterized brain connectivity patterns associated with abstinence duration in MUD. We hypothesized that whole-brain functional connectivity patterns would covary with abstinence duration in MUD.
Methods
In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to apply connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) to resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from MUD participants to identify abstinence-duration-associated connectivity patterns (Figure 1A). These patterns were validated in a separate, heterogeneous sample (Figure 1B). We subsequently conducted exploratory analyses to compare connectivity strength between MUD participants and healthy comparison subjects (HCs; Figure 1C) and examine connectivity variations across abstinence stages (<1 month, 1-3 months, 3-6 months, and 6-24 months) (Figure 1D).
Results
Applying connectome-based predictive modeling with leave-one-out cross-validation to resting-state functional connectivity data from MUD participants stratified by abstinence duration (<1 month, 1-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-24 months; total
N
=85), we identified patterns significantly associated with abstinence duration (
r
= 0.51,
P
< .001) (Figure 2), validated in an independent cohort (
N
=48,
r
= 0.41,
P
< .004). These patterns comprised positive components showing strengthened within-network connectivity in motor/sensory, subcortical, and medial frontal networks, and enhanced between-network connectivity involving motor/sensory, cerebellum/brainstem, and subcortical networks; and negative components demonstrating reduced connectivity between motor/sensory and default mode networks, as well as among motor/sensory, medial frontal, and visual association networks (Figure 2). Exploratory analyses revealed systematic variation in strength, with healthy comparison subjects exhibiting intermediate connectivity relative to short-term (<1 month) versus prolonged (6–24 months) abstinent MUD individuals (Figure 3).
Image 1: Long description.