Advanced Functional and Structural MRI Techniques for Neuropharmacological Imaging



Status:Recruiting
Conditions:Smoking Cessation, Psychiatric, Tobacco Consumers
Therapuetic Areas:Psychiatry / Psychology, Pulmonary / Respiratory Diseases
Healthy:No
Age Range:18 - 55
Updated:4/6/2019
Start Date:October 30, 2003
Contact:Yihong Yang, Ph.D.
Email:yihongyang@mail.nih.gov
Phone:(443) 740-2648

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Background:

- Functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques have allowed
researchers to map and study how the brain works when at rest and when engaged in specific
tasks. MRI scans have provided more information about how drugs affect the brain, and about
how drug addiction changes the brain and influences behavior, mood, and thinking processes.
To better understand the underlying mechanism of drug addiction and to develop strategies for
more effective treatment, researchers are interested in developing new MRI techniques to
study the effects of addiction on the brain.

Objectives:

- To develop new functional and structural MRI techniques, and to evaluate their potential
use in brain imaging studies related to addiction.

Eligibility:

- Individuals between 18 and 55 years of age.

- Participants may be smokers or nonsmokers, and may use drugs or not use drugs.

Design:

- During the initial screening, participants will complete questionnaires about family and
personal history, drug use, and other information as required by the researchers.
Participants who will be asked to complete tasks during the MRI scan will be shown how
to perform these tasks before the scanning session.

- Before each study session, participants may be asked to complete some or all of the
following: questions about their drug use during the last week, a breathalyzer test, a
urine drug-use assessment, a urine pregnancy test, or a measure of carbon monoxide.
Participants will also provide blood samples before the start of the scan.

- For each scanning session, participants will have an MRI scan that will last
approximately 2 hours.

- MRI scans may include injections with a contrast agent to study brain function, specific
tasks to be performed during the scan, or an experiment that studies the brain's
response to carbon dioxide.

Objective:

Functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging techniques have proven essential for
noninvasive mapping of brain physiology and pathology. The primary objective of this protocol
is to develop advanced magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy (MRI and MRS) techniques
for neuroimaging studies related to addiction. These neuroimaging techniques will be used in
other studies to better understand the underlying mechanism of drug addiction and to
potentially develop strategies for more effective treatment.

Study population:

Healthy controls and drug users will participate in the study. Technical developments of
MRI/MRS will be performed on healthy controls, while the evaluation of the applicability of
these techniques to addiction related neuroimaging studies will be performed using drug users
and healthy controls.

Design:

Based on the fundamental principle of the biophysical transduction of physiological signals
to magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and spectroscopic signals, advanced techniques will be
developed to measure the activity, metabolism, structure, and biochemistry of the brain. The
development of these techniques typically includes the following steps: 1) proof-of-concept
computer simulations, 2) implementation of the imaging concept with an MRI scanner and
phantoms, 3) feasibility testing on control subjects, and 4) evaluation of the sensitivity
and specificity of these techniques in detecting functional changes modulated by task
performance, contrast agent injection, CO2 administration, CO2 administration, or
transcranial magnetic stimulation evaluation of these techniques in detecting functional
and/or structural alterations of the brain related to a specific disease.

Outcome measures:

Advanced neuroimaging techniques developed from this protocol will demonstrate the ability to
distinguish between drug using and control populations. Successful techniques will then be
incorporated into hypothesis driven studies in the Neuroimaging Research Branch at NIDA-IRP.
These techniques will also be useful, through publications and technology transfer, to the
entire neuroimaging society.

- Subjects must be between the ages of 18-55, be generally healthy and male or
non-pregnant female. Smokers, non-smokers, drug using and non-drug using populations
will participate in this study.

INCLUSION CRITERIA:

General:

- Male and non-pregnant female adults between the ages of 18-55.

- All subjects must be able to provide informed consent.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

Subjects will be excluded if they:

- Are pregnant. Urine pregnancy tests will be performed on all female volunteers of
child-bearing potential before each experimental session.

- Are unable to undergo MRI scanning due to implanted metallic devices (cardiac
pacemaker or neurostimulator, some artificial joints, metal pins, surgical clips or
other implanted metal parts including Copper 7 IUD) or claustrophobia.

- Are unable to safely undergo TMS stimulation due to having epilepsy or being at high
risk for a seizure, being sleep deprived, having a history of unexplained fainting,
recurrent severe headaches, significant head injury, having undergone a neurosurgical
procedure, having metal in the head, having hearing problems or ringing in the ears or
implanted medical devices that could malfunction under TMS stimulation.

- Have major medical illnesses to include, but not limited to, hypertension,
cardiovascular disease, asthma, diabetes, peripheral vascular diseases,
coagulopathies, syncope, history of superficial or deep vein thrombosis, HIV, or other
clinically significant infectious diseases that may alter the signal being measured.

- Have current major psychiatric disorders to include, but not limited to, mood,
anxiety, psychotic disorders.

- Have neurological illnesses including, but not limited to, seizure disorders,
migraine, multiple sclerosis, movement disorders, or history of head trauma, CVA, CNS
tumor.

- Have cognitive impairment as assessed by screening WASI vocabulary subtest below 48,
corresponding to full IQ of 85 (in that case on screening, a full WASI will be done to
verify IQ of 85 or above). Justification: Cognitive impairment and learning
disabilities are associated with alterations in brain regions used to accomplish
tasks, and, therefore, may introduce significant variably into the data.

- Inability to comply with task demands.

Additional exclusions for some experiments:

Based on the scientific and medical requirements of the particular experiment, participants
may also be excluded for:

- left-handedness (if using a cognitive or affective task),

- color-blindness (if using a task requiring color discrimination),

- drug use diagnosis (if a technique is being validated in a non-drug using population),

- renal insufficiency (if contrast agents are to be used), as determined by estimated
glomerular filtration rate, which must be > 60 ml/min, as renal insufficiency greatly
increases the risk of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis from gadolinium exposure. Renal
insufficiency may also be associated with metabolic abnormalities that may interfere
with MR imaging.

- Lactation (if contrast agents are to be used). The safety of gadolinium for nursing
infants has not been established.
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