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Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Chinese Patients with Amphetamine-Type Stimulant Use Disorders: an EEG Functional Connectivity Study

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Abstract

Objectives

Amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) have become the most used drugs in China, and increasing evidence indicates that ATS can induce a series of cognitive deficits, including impacts to functional connectivity (FC). This study investigates FC defects among ATS patients in China, and examines the mechanism and effects of a 10-day abbreviated mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) program with electroencephalography (EEG).

Methods

First, resting-state EEG of 12 healthy non-ATS users and 40 male ATS patients were recorded by using a 64-channel EEG. Then, ATS users were randomly divided into two groups; the control group (n = 20) received treatment as usual, while the intervention group (n = 20) received the MBRP treatment. Resting-state EEG, mindful attention awareness, and self-reported craving, as well as anxiety and depression levels, were tested before and after the intervention. The weighted phase lag index was computed to reflect brain FC.

Results

Compared with healthy controls, ATS patients showed lower mean FC at the gamma and high gamma bands during the eye-open state. Besides, the lower EEG pairwise FC in the theta, alpha, beta, low gamma, and high gamma bands were also identified. After MBRP, the intervention group revealed increased FC in the low gamma band during the eye-open state, and significantly higher levels of mindful attention awareness when compared with those of the control group (F = 12.926, p = 0.001).

Conclusions

FC is disrupted in people with ATS use disorders, and MBRP can help treat this deficit, specifically regarding low gamma bands.

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Data Availability

Due to protection of sensitive personal data, it is not allowed to release raw data. However, summary data are available on reasonable request.

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Funding

This study was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation (81871045), Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Mental Health (19MC1911100), Program of Science and Technology Innovation Plan in Shanghai (18411961200), Shanghai Intelligent Engineering Technology Research Center for Addiction and Rehabilitation (19DZ2255200), Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders (13DZ2260500), Program of Shanghai Science and Technology Committee (19411969200), and Shanghai Mental Health Center (SMHC) Clinical Research Center project (CRC2017YB04).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, School of Medicine, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China

    Jingying Zhang, Tianzhen Chen, Haoye Tan, Qianying Wu, Liyu Chen, Chenxin Yuan, Xinni Ding, Lei Zhang, Yanru Wu, Min Zhao & Jiang Du

  2. Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany

    Jingying Zhang

  3. Shanghai Gaojing Drug Rehabilitation Center, Shanghai, China

    Chao Du, Jun Li & Erfeng Lu

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  1. Jingying Zhang
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  2. Tianzhen Chen
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  3. Haoye Tan
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  4. Qianying Wu
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  5. Liyu Chen
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  8. Lei Zhang
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  13. Min Zhao
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  14. Jiang Du
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Contributions

JYZ and TZC contribute equally to this work. JYZ conducted the intervention, analyzed clinical data, and drafted the manuscript. TZC performed the EEG data analysis, interpreted findings, and provided critical revision of the manuscript. HYT, QYW, LYC, CXY, XND, and LZ collected the data. CD, JL, and EFL assisted with data acquisition. YRW supervised the intervention. DJ and MZ designed this study and revised the manuscript. All authors critically reviewed content and approved the final version for publication.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Min Zhao or Jiang Du.

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This research was approved by the institutional review boards of Shanghai Mental Health Center (2018KY-20).

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Informed consent was obtained from all participants included in the study.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Zhang, J., Chen, T., Tan, H. et al. Mindfulness-Based Intervention on Chinese Patients with Amphetamine-Type Stimulant Use Disorders: an EEG Functional Connectivity Study. Mindfulness 13, 1320–1332 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-022-01882-y

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