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Low striatal dopamine receptor availability linked to caloric intake during abstinence from chronic methamphetamine abuse

Molecular Psychiatry volume 17, pages 569–571 (2012)Cite this article

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Methamphetamine (MA) abuse, a prevalent problem with considerable public health and criminal justice costs,1 resembles other addictive disorders in its association with deficits in striatal dopamine receptor availability.2, 3 This commonality is linked with the propensity to develop addictions via the Reward Deficiency Hypothesis.4 Despite observations of low striatal dopamine receptor availability both in individuals with MA dependence5 and those who have obesity,3, 6 empirical measures of eating dysregulation and propensity to obesity among abstinent MA-dependent individuals have not been reported. According to the Reward Deficiency Hypothesis, addicted individuals would seek out alternative rewards (for example, food) in the absence of their preferred pathological rewarding outlet (for example, MA abuse) to compensate for their deficient striatal dopamine signaling. To test the applicability of this hypothesis to MA dependence, we measured striatal dopamine D2/3 receptor availability as well as caloric intake and weight gain in MA-dependent research participants during early abstinence from MA.

Calorie counts during days 3–7 of abstinence were complete for 20 participants: 11 men (58%), 13 of whom were ethnically White (68%), average age of 35.6±8.3 years (mean±s.d.), mostly cigarette smokers (n=18, 90%). They had been using MA for 13.2±8.6 years on average, and 18.6±8.1 days of the last 30 before admission. On average, they consumed 4277±1121 kcal per day over days 3–7 of hospitalization. Calorie counts were complete in both days 3–7 and 28–33 of the hospitalization for seven participants; and participants consumed 3763±1073 kcal per day over days 3–7, and 3588±621 kcal per day over days 28–32, with no group difference between time points (P=0.71).

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by NIH grants R01 DA020726, R01 DA015179, P20 DA022539 (EDL), and MO1 RR00865 (UCLA GCRC), and endowments from the Katherine K. and Thomas P. Pike Chair in Addiction Studies (EDL) and the Marjorie M. Greene Trust.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    T Zorick, B Lee, T Fong, D G Ghahremani, A K Brown, B Sumerel & E D London

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Greater Los Angeles Veterans Administration Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    T Zorick

  3. Department of Physics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA

    M A Mandelkern

  4. Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    C Robertson & E D London

  5. Brain Research Institute, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    E D London

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  1. T Zorick
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  2. B Lee
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Correspondence to E D London.

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Zorick, T., Lee, B., Mandelkern, M. et al. Low striatal dopamine receptor availability linked to caloric intake during abstinence from chronic methamphetamine abuse. Mol Psychiatry 17, 569–571 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/mp.2011.137

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