Effects of high amphetamine dose on mood and cerebral glucose metabolism in normal volunteers using positron emission tomography (PET)

Abstract

The effects of high euphorigenic doses of D-amphetamine (0.9-1.0 mg/kg p.o.) on regional cerebral glucose metabolism (rCMRglu) and psychological measures were investigated in 10 healthy human volunteers using a within-subject design and [F-18]-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) and a variety of psychological assessments. At the dose tested, D-amphetamine produced a mania-like syndrome concomitantly with a widespread increase in absolute cerebral metabolism, which was significant in the anterior cingulate cortex, caudate nucleus, putamen, and thalamus. An exploratory analysis revealed that: (1) certain aspects of this mania-like syndrome correlated positively with the metabolic changes seen in the frontal cortex, caudate nucleus and putamen; and (2) some of the amphetamine-induced changes in CMRglu correlated with D-amphetamine plasma levels. The present findings of cortical and subcortical increases in cerebral metabolism after D-amphetamine application in humans accord with previous studies in animals, demonstrating that relatively high doses of D-amphetamine (presumably at least 1 mg/kg) are needed to increase cerebral glucose metabolism.