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. 2013 Feb 1;128(1-2):52-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2012.07.016. Epub 2012 Aug 19.

Striatal D(2)/D(3) receptor availability is inversely correlated with cannabis consumption in chronic marijuana users

Daniel S Albrecht  1 , Patrick D Skosnik, Jennifer M Vollmer, Margaret S Brumbaugh, Kevin M Perry, Bruce H Mock, Qi-Huang Zheng, Lauren A Federici, Elizabeth A Patton, Christine M Herring, Karmen K Yoder
Affiliations

Striatal D(2)/D(3) receptor availability is inversely correlated with cannabis consumption in chronic marijuana users

Daniel S Albrecht et al. Drug Alcohol Depend. .

Abstract

Background: Although the incidence of cannabis abuse/dependence in Americans is rising, the neurobiology of cannabis addiction is not well understood. Imaging studies have demonstrated deficits in striatal D(2)/D(3) receptor availability in several substance-dependent populations. However, this has not been studied in currently using chronic cannabis users.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare striatal D(2)/D(3) receptor availability between currently using chronic cannabis users and healthy controls.

Methods: Eighteen right-handed males age 18-34 were studied. Ten subjects were chronic cannabis users; eight were demographically matched controls. Subjects underwent a [(11)C]raclopride (RAC) PET scan. Striatal RAC binding potential (BP(ND)) was calculated on a voxel-wise basis. Prior to scanning, urine samples were obtained from cannabis users for quantification of urine Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and THC metabolites (11-nor-Δ-9-THC-9-carboxylic acid; THC-COOH and 11-hydroxy-THC;OH-THC).

Results: There were no differences in D(2)/D(3) receptor availability between cannabis users and controls. Voxel-wise analyses revealed that RAC BP(ND) values were negatively associated with both urine levels of cannabis metabolites and self-report of recent cannabis consumption.

Conclusions: In this sample, current cannabis use was not associated with deficits in striatal D(2)/D(3) receptor availability. There was an inverse relationship between chronic cannabis use and striatal RAC BP(ND). Additional studies are needed to identify the neurochemical consequences of chronic cannabis use on the dopamine system.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A. Voxel-wise correlations between urine THC-COOH/Cr with RAC BPND in cannabis users (n = 10). The “rainbow” colorscale indicates voxels where BPND is correlated with THC-COOH/Cr. B. Linear relationship between BPND and urine THC-COOH levels. Average BPND value was determined for each subject by extracting BPND values with a region of interest defined by the significant voxels from the SPM result (shown in 1A). Display threshold is p < 0.01. MNI coordinates are: axial: 6; coronal: 24.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
A. Voxel-wise correlations between self-reported average intake per day and RAC BPND in cannabis users (n = 9). The “rainbow” colorscale indicates voxels where BPND is correlated with average use per day. B. Linear relationship between BPND values and recent cannabis use per day. Average BPND value was determined for each subject by extracting BPND values with a region of interest defined by the significant voxels from the SPM result (shown in 2A). Display threshold is p < 0.01. MNI coordinates are: axial: 6; coronal: 24.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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