TY - JOUR
T1 - Dorsal Prefrontal Cortex Impairment in Methoxetamine-Induced Psychosis: an 18F-FDG PET/CT Case Study
AU - Moccia, Lorenzo
AU - Tofani, Anna
AU - Mazza, Marianna
AU - Covino, Marcello
AU - Martinotti, Giovanni
AU - Schifano, Fabrizio
AU - Janiri, Luigi
AU - Di Nicola, Marco
N1 - Submitted15 June 2018. Accepted 13 December 2018. Epub ahead of print 13 February 2019
PY - 2019/5/27
Y1 - 2019/5/27
N2 - Novel psychoactive substances (NPSs) have currently become a major public health concern because of relatively easy accessibility to these compounds and difficulty in identifying them with routine laboratory techniques. Here, we report the
18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computerized tomography (
18 F-FDG PET/CT) case study of a 23-year-old man who developed a substance-induced psychotic disorder after having intravenously injected himself with an unspecified amount of methoxetamine (MXE), a ketamine derivative hallucinogen. From a clinical perspective, a blunted affective responsiveness with diminished social drive and sense of purpose, along with a profound detachment from the environment, was observed. Psychometric and neuropsychological assessments highlighted severe dissociative symptoms and lack of motivation, along with a mild impairment of verbal fluency, working memory, and attention. Patient’s
18 F-FDG PET/CT scans displayed a significant bilateral deficit of tracer uptake within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). DLPFC activity is critical to goal-oriented cognitive functions, including working memory and sustained attention. DLPFC is also involved in both the temporal integration across multiple sensory modes and in the volitional control of actions, leading to the possibility to construct logically coherent temporal configurations of thought, speech, and behavior. This report highlights that a single acute MXE intoxication may produce severe brain impairment.
AB - Novel psychoactive substances (NPSs) have currently become a major public health concern because of relatively easy accessibility to these compounds and difficulty in identifying them with routine laboratory techniques. Here, we report the
18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computerized tomography (
18 F-FDG PET/CT) case study of a 23-year-old man who developed a substance-induced psychotic disorder after having intravenously injected himself with an unspecified amount of methoxetamine (MXE), a ketamine derivative hallucinogen. From a clinical perspective, a blunted affective responsiveness with diminished social drive and sense of purpose, along with a profound detachment from the environment, was observed. Psychometric and neuropsychological assessments highlighted severe dissociative symptoms and lack of motivation, along with a mild impairment of verbal fluency, working memory, and attention. Patient’s
18 F-FDG PET/CT scans displayed a significant bilateral deficit of tracer uptake within the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). DLPFC activity is critical to goal-oriented cognitive functions, including working memory and sustained attention. DLPFC is also involved in both the temporal integration across multiple sensory modes and in the volitional control of actions, leading to the possibility to construct logically coherent temporal configurations of thought, speech, and behavior. This report highlights that a single acute MXE intoxication may produce severe brain impairment.
KW - F-FDG PET/CT
KW - dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
KW - methoxetamine
KW - novel psychoactive substances
KW - substance-induced psychosis
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85061225904&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/02791072.2019.1578444
DO - 10.1080/02791072.2019.1578444
M3 - Article
SN - 0279-1072
VL - 51
SP - 254
EP - 259
JO - Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
JF - Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
IS - 3
ER -