Linking Affective Symptoms and Brain Morphology in Cocaine Use Disorder: An Integrated Network Approach.

Overview

1. Institute of Neurobiology, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México campus Juriquilla, Querétaro, Mexico
2. Center for Clinical Neuroscience and Cognition, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
3. Research School of Behavioural and Cognitive Neurosciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
4. Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Prolongación Canal de Miramontes, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico

Abstract

Introduction: Cocaine use disorder (CUD) often co-occurs with depressive and anxiety symptoms, suggesting shared neurobiological bases. This study aimed to understand the relationship between these heterogeneous individual symptoms and structural brain characteristics in CUD using an integrated network approach.

Method: Data from 116 individuals (17 women) with CUD (SUDMEX project) were analyzed. We used item-level depression and anxiety scores from the SCL-90-R, along with measures of cortical thickness (insula, inferior/middle frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate cortex) and hippocampal volume. Four brain-behavior integrated networks were estimated: (1) brain regions with depressive symptoms, (2) brain regions with anxiety symptoms, (3) brain regions with global depression scores, and (4) brain regions with global anxiety scores.

Results: The symptom-level networks revealed specific associations. The insula was a central finding, showing negative associations in the depression network with Crying (partial r = −0.078) and Self-blame (partial r = −0.024), and in the anxiety network with Being/Feeling Scared (partial r = −0.058). Furthermore, insular thickness was negatively associated with the global depression score (partial r = −0.068). These associations were not moderated by duration of cocaine use.

Conclusion: The findings identify the insula as a potential neural hub linking affective symptoms with brain morphology in CUD. This integrated approach offers a more nuanced understanding of the complex relationships between psychiatric symptoms and brain structure in CUD.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY-NC), from the paper cited above.

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Data

Datasets cited

• doi:10.18112/openneuro.ds003037.v1.0.0, at OpenNeuro; found in “Data Availability Statement”
• doi:10.18112/openneuro.ds003346.v1.1.2, at OpenNeuro; found in “Data Availability Statement”
• zenodo:10409461, at Zenodo; found in “Data Availability Statement”
• zenodo:5123330, at Zenodo; found in “Data Availability Statement”

Data Availability Statement

The SUDMEX-CONN and SUDMEX TMS clinical data are openly available in the Zenodo repository (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5123330 and https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10409461). Additionally, the MRI data are available in the OpenNeuro repository (https://doi.org/10.18112/openneuro.ds003346.v1.1.2 and https://doi.org/10.18112/openneuro.ds003037.v1.0.0).

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY-NC), from the paper cited above.

Versions

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Version 2, 28 September 2026

• Publisher: n/a → Karger Publishers

Version 1, 27 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, pages, dates, 4 authors, 6 keywords, 51 references.

Cite

This paper

Angeles-Valdez, D., Jiménez, S., van Tol, M.-J., & Garza-Villarreal, E. A. (2026). Linking Affective Symptoms and Brain Morphology in Cocaine Use Disorder: An Integrated Network Approach. European addiction research, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1159/000553421

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