Reduced dorsal prefrontal gray matter after chronic ketamine use
Abstract
Background Use of ketamine as a recreational drug is spreading rapidly among young people all over the world. Epidemiological studies have linked chronic ketamine use with a number of problems, including cognitive impairments, bladder dysfunction, and ketamine-related death. However, little is known about the long-term effects of ketamine use on brain structure and function.Methods We used voxel based morphometry in conjunction with statistical parametric mapping on the structural magnetic resonance images of ketamine-dependent (n = 41) and drug-naive control individuals (n = 44) to assess differences in gray matter volume between the two groups.Results We observed significant decreases in gray matter volume in bilateral frontal cortex (left superior frontal gyrus and right middle frontal gyrus) of ketamine users in comparison with control subjects (p < .05 corrected for multiple comparisons at cluster-level). Duration of ketamine use was negatively correlated with gray matter volume in bilateral frontal cortex, whereas the estimated total lifetime ketamine consumption was negatively correlated with gray matter volume in left superior frontal gyrus.Conclusions We have demonstrated a reduction in frontal gray matter volume in patients after chronic ketamine use. The link between frontal gray matter attenuation and the duration of ketamine use and cumulative doses of ketamine perhaps suggests a dose-dependent effect of long-term use of the drug. Our results have important connotations for the clinical picture that is likely to emerge with the growing recreational use of ketamine and is also relevant to the status of the drug as a model for schizophrenia.
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- Authors
- Liao, Y., Tang, J., Corlett, P. R., Wang, X., Yang, M., Chen, H., Liu, T., Chen, X., Hao, W., & Fletcher, P. C.
- Affiliations
- Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University (CN)
- Yale University (US)
- Hunan Institute of Mental Health (CN)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Hao, Wei
- ORCID
- Venue
- Biological Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-01
- Volume
- 69
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 42-48
- ISSN
- 0006-3223 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2073139532
- Cited by
- 145
- References
- 63
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 17 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 5.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Biological Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Key Technology R&D Program (2007BAI07B01)
- Natural Science Foundation of China (30971050, 30900486, 30870893)
- National Key Basic Research and Development Program (2009CB522000, 2007CB512301)
- Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (10JJ5038)
- AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals
- LP
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Toxicology › Forensic Toxicology and Drug Analysis
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Keywords
- ketamine, chronic drug use, gray matter volume, dorsal prefrontal cortex, superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, recreational drug use, dose-dependent effects, duration of use, ketamine dependence, schizophrenia model
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Anesthetics, Dissociative, Atrophy, Brain Mapping, Female, Humans, Ketamine, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Prefrontal Cortex, Substance-Related Disorders, Nerve Fibers, Unmyelinated
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