Hippocampal Neurogenesis in Human Subjects (NG)

The University of Texas System (UT)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Hippocampal Neurogenesis in Cocaine Addiction

Study type: Observational

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02028273

STU 032012-021

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study is being done to measure the number of brain cells that grow in the brain throughout our lives while determining an effective way to complete this with an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scanner. The number of these brain cells may be affected by cocaine use. Researchers are trying to understand the long-term effects of cocaine use on the brain.

Full description

New neurons are generated through the process of neurogenesis. Although most active during pre-natal development, neurogenesis persists throughout the human lifespan. In adulthood, neurogenesis occurs predominantly in the subgranular zone of the hippocampal dentate gyrus. A highly novel methodology using Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) has recently been developed to measure the formation of hippocampal newborn stem cells in the human brain. We propose to assess Neural Progenitor Cells (NPCs) in the neuropsychiatric disorder cocaine dependence, a chronic disease process associated with pathology of the hippocampus and impaired neurogenesis. In addition, we will assess other measures associated with neurogenesis, including hippocampal (dentate gyrus) cerebral blood volume (CBV) using Vascular-Space-Occupancy (VASO) Magnetic Resonance Imaging. We predict that newborn hippocampal cells [or neuronal progenitor cells (NPCs] will be attenuated in recently using cocaine-addicted participants relative to abstinent and control participants, and that these changes will be paralleled by changes in CBV. In this pilot study, we will assess for these changes in cocaine-addicted subjects who are actively using cocaine and those who are recently abstinent (three to six months) as well as age-, race-, and gender-similar control participants.

Enrollment: 14 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 55 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Cocaine-dependence (patient population) or no cocaine-dependence (control population)

Exclusion criteria

• Other medical or psychiatric disorders that may effect neural functioning
• Medications that may effect neural functioning

Trial design

14 participants in 3 patient groups

Control

Description:

Healthy control group. No history of substance abuse or dependence.

Actively using patients

Description:

Participants actively using cocaine.

Abstinent Patients

Description:

Participants who have been abstinent from cocaine use for 3-6 months.