Preexisting Neuroanatomical Variability Linked to Pediatric Substance Use

THURSDAY, Jan. 9, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Preexisting neuroanatomical variability is associated with substance use initiation in children younger than 15 years, according to a study published online Dec. 30 in JAMA Network Open.

Alex P. Miller, Ph.D., from Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, and colleagues examined neuroanatomical features associated with early substance use initiation and the extent to which associations reflect preexisting vulnerability in a cohort study using data from baseline through three years of follow-up. Data were included for 9,804 children; 35.3 percent reported substance use initiation before age 15 years.

The researchers observed an association for initiation of any substance or alcohol use with a thinner cortex in prefrontal regions (e.g., rostral middle frontal gyrus, β = –0.03) but thicker cortex in all other lobes, larger globus pallidus and hippocampal volumes, as well as greater global indices of brain structure (e.g., larger whole brain volume, β = 0.05). There was an association for cannabis use initiation with lower right caudate volume (β = –0.03). The majority of associations, including a thinner prefrontal cortex and greater whole brain volume, preceded initiation in post hoc examinations restricted to postbaseline initiation.

“A greater understanding of the links between brain structure and substance involvement may uncover predispositional risk factors that provide insight into the early causes of substance use disorders and clinically informative mechanisms through which myriad adverse health outcomes associated with substance involvement emerge,” the authors write.

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