Dissimilar patterns of degeneration in brain following four different addictive stimulants.
Neuroreport October 25, 1993 G Ellison, R C Switzer
Different drugs of abuse that can produce psychosis in chronic users cause distinct patterns of brain damage. Continuous administration of D-amphetamine or cocaine over five days led to pronounced degeneration in the fasciculus retroflexus, a brain fiber bundle, while D-amphetamine also damaged the striatum. Phencyclidine (PCP) caused damage largely confined to the posterior entorhinal cortex, ventral dentate gyrus, and cingulate cortex. Methamphetamine, given in a high-dose but shorter regimen, caused widespread degeneration including in the striatum. These distinct patterns suggest two different anatomical locations may be involved in psychosis: the fasciculus retroflexus and the ventral parahippocampus and hippocampus.