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Reduced habenular volumes and neuron numbers in male heroin addicts: a post-mortem study

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Abstract

The Habenula is increasingly being investigated in addiction. Reduced volumes of other relevant brain regions in addiction, such as nucleus accumbens, globus pallidus and hypothalamus have been reported. Reduced volumes of the habenula as well as reduced neuronal cell count in the habenula have also been reported in mood disorders and an overlap between mood disorders and addiction is clinically widely recognized. Thus, our aim was to investigate possible volume and neuronal cell count differences in heroin addicts compared to healthy controls. Volumes of the medial (MHB) and lateral habenula (LHB) in heroin addicts (n = 12) and healthy controls (n = 12) were assessed by morphometry of 20 µm serial whole brain sections. Total brain volume was larger in the heroin group (mean 1466.6 ± 58.5 cm3 vs. mean 1331.5 ± 98.8 cm3), possibly because the heroin group was about 15 years younger (p = 0.001). Despite larger mean whole brain volume, the mean relative volume of the MHB was smaller than in healthy non-addicted controls (6.94 ± 2.38 × 10–6 vs.10.64 ± 3.22 × 10−6; p = 0.004). A similar finding was observed regarding relative volumes of the LHB (46.62 ± 10.90 × 10−6 vs. 63.05 ± 16.42 × 10−6 p = 0.009). In parallel, neuronal cell numbers were reduced in the MHB of heroin-addicted subjects (395,966 ± 184,178 vs. 644,149 ± 131,140; p < 0.001). These findings were not significantly confounded by age and duration of autolysis. Our results provide further evidence for brain-structural deficits in heroin addiction.

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Acknowledgements

The Magdeburg Brain Collection and subsequently this investigation have been supported in part by the Stanley Medical Research Foundation (Grant No. 07R-1832) to BB and JS, the Saxony-Anhalt Ministry of Research (XN3594O/0405M, N2-OVGU), the German Ministry of Research („BrainNet“, BMBF NBL-3/2 and 01ZZ0407) and the Alfried-Krupp-von-Bohlen-und-Halbach foundation. We are grateful to KB, BJ and GM-L for their excellent technical assistance.

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Author notes

  1. Hans-Gert Bernstein and Johann Steiner contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Magdeburg, 39120, Magdeburg, Germany

    Ulf J. Müller, Moritz Ahrens, Veronika Vasilevska, Henrik Dobrowolny, Kolja Schiltz, Konstantin Schlaaff, Thomas Frodl, Bernhard Bogerts, Tomasz Gos, Hans-Gert Bernstein & Johann Steiner

  2. Translational Psychiatry Laboratory, University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany

    Ulf J. Müller, Moritz Ahrens, Veronika Vasilevska, Henrik Dobrowolny, Kolja Schiltz, Konstantin Schlaaff, Bernhard Bogerts, Tomasz Gos, Hans-Gert Bernstein & Johann Steiner

  3. Forensic Psychiatric State Hospital of Saxony-Anhalt, Stendal-Uchtspringe, Germany

    Ulf J. Müller

  4. Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany

    Kolja Schiltz, Christian Mawrin, Thomas Frodl, Bernhard Bogerts & Johann Steiner

  5. Department of Forensic Psychiatry, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany

    Kolja Schiltz

  6. Department of Neuropathology, University of Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany

    Christian Mawrin

  7. Salus Institute, Magdeburg, Germany

    Bernhard Bogerts

  8. Department of Forensic Medicine, Medical University of Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland

    Tomasz Gos

  9. Institute of Legal Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

    Kurt Truebner

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  1. Ulf J. Müller
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Sampling and preservation of the human brain material were done in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, German Law and approval by the local institutional review board.

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Müller, U.J., Ahrens, M., Vasilevska, V. et al. Reduced habenular volumes and neuron numbers in male heroin addicts: a post-mortem study. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 271, 835–845 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-020-01195-y

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