Psychological dysregulation, white matter disorganization and substance use disorders in adolescence
Year: 2011
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: AIMS: Adolescents with substance use disorders (SUD) have difficulties with cognitive, behavioral and affective regulation. White matter (WM) disorganization has been observed in adolescents with SUD and may be related to psychological dysregulation. This study compared adolescents with SUD and control adolescents to investigate relationships among psychological dysregulation, WM disorganization and SUD symptoms. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observation. SETTING: Adolescents with SUD were recruited from SUD treatment programs. Controls were recruited from the community. PARTICIPANTS: The 55 participants were aged 14-19; 35 with SUD and 20 controls without SUD. MEASUREMENTS: Psychological dysregulation was characterized by the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. WM disorganization was measured by diffusion tensor imaging, and fractional anisotropy, radial diffusivity and axial diffusivity were examined within cortical regions of interest. FINDINGS: Compared to controls, SUD adolescents showed significantly greater psychological dysregulation and prefrontal and parietal WM disorganization. WM disorganization was correlated positively with psychological dysregulation and cannabis-related symptoms. In multivariate mediation models, the results were consistent with both the neurodevelopmental immaturity model, in which WM disorganization leads to psychological dysregulation and cannabis-related symptoms, and with the substance effects model, in which cannabis-related symptoms lead to WM disorganization and psychological dysregulation. CONCLUSIONS: In adolescents, substance use disorder and psychological dysregulation appear to be associated with reduced frontoparietal network white matter maturation.
Source: Addiction
Institution: University of Pittsburgh
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
Awards: ADULT NEUROBEHAVIORAL OUTCOMES OF ADOLESCENT DRUG ABUSE, G1081018188, G121640329, Neurodevelopmental Maturation and Alcohol Use in Adolescents, G1557503371, G2464516390, G3152651886, G3198031796, Integrating longitudinal research on adolescent AUDs with imaging and genetics, G6751853003, Adolescent Psychopathology and Alcohol Use Disorders, Social Network Influences on Adolescent AUD Treatment Outcomes, G97038983
OpenAlex ID: W1900671942