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Addiction Therapy 2016
October 03-05, 2016
Volume 7, Issue 5(Suppl) J Addict Res Ther
ISSN:2155-6105 JART, an open access journal
conferenceseries .com
October 03-05, 2016 Atlanta, USA
5th International Conference and Exhibition on
Addiction Research & Therapy
WK Tang et al., J Addict Res Ther 2016, 7:5(Suppl)
Evidence of brain damage in chronic ketamine users a brain imaging study
WK Tang, Yong Lin, Y Liang, Huajun Liang and WY Lai
Chinese University of Hong Kong, China
Main outcome measures: Psychiatric assessments included screening with self-rating questionnaires and face-to-face
interviews. All of the participants completed a detailed cognitive battery that covered general intelligence, verbal and visual
memory, executive functions, motor speed and language. All of the participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging of
the brain.
Results: Many of the participants in the ketamine group also frequently used cocaine and cannabis. Among the ketamine
users, 12.6% were diagnosed with a mood disorder and 8.9% with an anxiety disorder. The participants in the ketamine group
had worse performance than the healthy controls on tests of general intelligence, verbal, visual and working memory and
executive functioning.
In terms of grey matter volumes, the right orbitofrontal cortex, right medial prefrontal cortex, left and right hippocampus
and possibly the left orbitofrontal cortex were smaller in the ketamine group. In contrast, the volumes of the left basal ganglia,
left putamen and possibly the left caudate were higher in the ketamine group. In terms of white matter volumes, the ketamine
group had a lower periventricular white matter volume in the right hemisphere. The grey matter volumes of the left and right
orbitofrontal cortex, right medial prefrontal cortex, left basal ganglia and left putamen, and right periventricular white matter
volume were negatively correlated with the severity of ketamine dependence. The hippocampal volumes were correlated with
performance on the arithmetic, information and digit span tests. The periventricular white matter volume also correlated with
the information score.
A functional connectivity examination of the default mode network revealed significantly decreased connectivity in the
medial part of the bilateral superior frontal gyrus, left middle frontal gyrus, bilateral gyrus rectus, left superior temporal pole,
left inferior temporal gyrus, bilateral angular gyrus and bilateral cerebellum crus II in the ketamine group. This group also
displayed increased connectivity in the bilateral precuneus and right inferior occipital gyrus.
Biography
WK Tang was appointed to professor in the Department of Psychiatry, the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2011. Professor Tang completed his medical
training at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He joined the Chinese University of Hong Kong as an academic staff since 1999. His main research area is
Neuropsychiatry in Stroke. Professor Tang has published over 100 papers in renowned journals, and has also contributed to the peer review of 40 journals. He has
secured over 20 major competitive research grants. He has served the editorial boards of five scientific journals. He was also a recipient of the Young Researcher
Award in 2007, awarded by the Chinese University of Hong Kong.