Naltrexone ameliorates functional network abnormalities in alcohol-dependent individuals.

ABSTRACT: Naltrexone, an opioid receptor antagonist, is commonly used as a relapse prevention medication in alcohol and opiate addiction, but its efficacy and the mechanisms underpinning its clinical usefulness are not well characterized. In the current study, we examined the effects of 50-mg naltrexone compared with placebo on neural network changes associated with substance dependence in 21 alcohol and 36 poly-drug-dependent individuals compared with 36 healthy volunteers. Graph theoretic and network-based statistical analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data revealed that alcohol-dependent subjects had reduced functional connectivity of a dispersed network compared with both poly-drug-dependent and healthy subjects. Higher local efficiency was observed in both pat

SUBMITTER: Morris LS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5811832 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature