1Advanced
Imaging Research Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center,
Dallas, TX, United States; 2Department of Psychiatry, University
of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, United States; 3VA
North Texas Health Care System, Dallas, TX, United States; 4Center
For Brain Health, University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, United States
Long-term cocaine use is known to negatively impact neural systems. Cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) is thought to be a direct index of neural activity, but no measurements of brain oxygen metabolism in cocaine-addicted patients has been reported. We used a non-invasive, fast and reliable MR method to examine impact of long-term cocaine use on CMRO2. We sought to answer three questions: 1) is CMRO2 in cocaine-addicted participants significantly different from that in healthy controls? 2) is there a relationship between cocaine use and the severity of metabolic deficit? 3) does the degree of CMRO2 deficit predict cognitive ability?