Abnormalities in Regional Brain Volumes in Adolescent Methamphetamine Users

Introduction: Methamphetamine (METH) consumption in adults is associated with structural changes in the brain, for instance with smaller limbic and hippocampal volumes that correlated with poorer word recall (Thompson et al. 2004). In addition, others have reported enlarged mesolimbic, striatal and cortical volumes in METH users (Chang et al 2005; Jernigan et al. 2005). However, whether brain volumes also are abnormal in adolescents METH users whose brains are still developing is unknown. Female adolescents with and without a history of METH abuse were evaluated in this study.