Eroding The Mind

WARNING – If the contents of this page does not make you angry – It should make you scared

 

 

A new UCLA Neuroscience imaging study shows for the first time the selective pattern of destruction to the brain’s memory, emotion and reward systems experienced by chronic methamphetamine users. Color, three-dimensional visualizations created from magnetic resonance images vividly show the damage. The study reveals the mechanism by which drug abuse damages the brain and suggests potential targets for therapy in recovering drug users.[PDF][BBC]

 

 

This image shows the pattern of brain tissue loss in methamphetamine users, relative to healthy adults, mapped using MRI scans. Brain regions involved in drug craving, emotion and reward, and hippocampal brain regions involved in learning and memory, lose up to 10% of their tissue. Red colors denote brain regions with greatest tissue loss, blue colors regions that remain relatively intact. Hippocampal volume reductions are linked with poorer memory performance in the methamphetamine users. At the same time, a 7% volume increase occurs in the brain’s white matter, suggesting an inflammatory response to chronic drug use.[REF]