TY - JOUR T1 - Striatal Dopamine D<sub>2</sub>/D<sub>3</sub> Receptor Availability Is Reduced in Methamphetamine Dependence and Is Linked to Impulsivity JF - The Journal of Neuroscience JO - J. Neurosci. SP - 14734 LP - 14740 DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3765-09.2009 VL - 29 IS - 47 AU - Buyean Lee AU - Edythe D. London AU - Russell A. Poldrack AU - Judah Farahi AU - Angelo Nacca AU - John R. Monterosso AU - Jeanette A. Mumford AU - Andrew V. Bokarius AU - Magnus Dahlbom AU - Jogeshwar Mukherjee AU - Robert M. Bilder AU - Arthur L. Brody AU - Mark A. Mandelkern Y1 - 2009/11/25 UR - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/29/47/14734.abstract N2 - While methamphetamine addiction has been associated with both impulsivity and striatal dopamine D2/D3 receptor deficits, human studies have not directly linked the latter two entities. We therefore compared methamphetamine-dependent and healthy control subjects using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (version 11, BIS-11) and positron emission tomography with [18F]fallypride to measure striatal dopamine D2/D3 receptor availability. The methamphetamine-dependent subjects reported recent use of the drug 3.3 g per week, and a history of using methamphetamine, on average, for 12.5 years. They had higher scores than healthy control subjects on all BIS-11 impulsiveness subscales (p &lt; 0.001). Volume-of-interest analysis found lower striatal D2/D3 receptor availability in methamphetamine-dependent than in healthy control subjects (p &lt; 0.01) and a negative relationship between impulsiveness and striatal D2/D3 receptor availability in the caudate nucleus and nucleus accumbens that reached statistical significance in methamphetamine-dependent subjects. Combining data from both groups, voxelwise analysis indicated that impulsiveness was related to D2/D3 receptor availability in left caudate nucleus and right lateral putamen/claustrum (p &lt; 0.05, determined by threshold-free cluster enhancement). In separate group analyses, correlations involving the head and body of the caudate and the putamen of methamphetamine-dependent subjects and the lateral putamen/claustrum of control subjects were observed at a weaker threshold (p &lt; 0.12 corrected). The findings suggest that low striatal D2/D3 receptor availability may mediate impulsive temperament and thereby influence addiction. ER -