Abstract
Objective: The authors examined whether striatal dopamine transporters were altered in acutely (96 hours or less) abstinent cocaine-abusing subjects, as suggested by postmortem studies. Method: [123I]β-CIT and single photon emission computed tomography were used to assess striatal dopamine transporter levels in 28 cocaine-abusing subjects and 24 comparison subjects matched as a group for age and gender. Results: Results showed a significant (approximately 20%) elevation in striatal V3' values in acutely abstinent cocaine-abusing subjects relative to comparison subjects. An inverse correlation between dopamine transporter level and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score was also observed. Conclusions: These findings indicate more modest elevations in striatal dopamine transporters in cocaine- abusing subjects than noted in previous postmortem reports and suggest a possible relationship between cocaine-related depression and dopamine transporter binding.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 832-834 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | American Journal of Psychiatry |
Volume | 155 |
Issue number | 6 |
State | Published - 1998 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatry and Mental health