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Hindi Research Article
Lower Left Thalamic Myo-Inositol Levels Associated with Greater Cognitive Impulsivity in Marijuana-Dependent Young Men: PreliminarySpectroscopic Evidence at 4T
Yasmin Mashhoon1*, J Eric Jensen1, Jennifer T Sneider1, Deborah A Yurgelun-Todd2 and Marisa M Silveri11McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 115 Mill St., Belmont, MA 02478, USA
2Brain Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA
- *Corresponding Author:
- Yasmin Mashhoon, PhD
McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School
McLean Imaging Center
115 Mill Street, Belmont, MA 02478, USA
Tel: 617-855-2985
Fax: 617-855-3711
E-mail: ymashhoon@mclean.harvard.edu
Received February 01, 2013; Accepted March 14, 2013; Published March 20, 2013
Citation: Mashhoon Y, Jensen JE, Sneider JT, Yurgelun-Todd DA, Silveri MM (2013) Lower Left Thalamic Myo-Inositol Levels Associated with Greater Cognitive Impulsivity in Marijuana-Dependent Young Men: Preliminary Spectroscopic Evidence at 4T. J Addict Res Ther S4:009. doi:10.4172/2155-6105.S4-009
Copyright: © 2013 Mashhoon Y, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
The effects of chronic marijuana (MRJ) use on neurochemistry are not well characterized. Previously, altered global myo-Inositol (mI) concentrations and distribution in white matter were associated with impulsivity and mood symptoms in young MRJ-dependent men. The objective of this study was to retrospectively examine previously collected data, to investigate the potential regional specificity of metabolite levels in brain regions densely packed with cannabinoid receptors. Spectra were acquired at 4.0 Tesla using 2D J-resolved proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) to quantify the entire J-coupled spectral surface of metabolites from voxels in regions of interest. For the current regional spectral analyses, a 2D-JMRSI grid was positioned over the central axial slice and shifted in the x and y dimensions to optimally position voxels over regions containing thalamus, temporal lobe, and parieto-occipital cortex. MRJ users exhibited significantly reduced mI levels in the left thalamus (lThal), relative to non-using participants, which were associated with elevated cognitive impulsivity. Other regional analyses did not reveal any significant group differences. The current findings indicate that reduced mI levels are regionally specific to the lThal in MRJ users. Furthermore, findings suggest that mI and the lThal uniquely contribute to elevated impulsivity.
