AUTHOR=Agarwal Khushbu , Manza Peter , Chapman Marquis , Nawal Nafisa , Biesecker Erin , McPherson Katherine , Dennis Evan , Johnson Allison , Volkow Nora D. , Joseph Paule V. 

TITLE=Inflammatory Markers in Substance Use and Mood Disorders: A Neuroimaging Perspective

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2022.863734

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2022.863734

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=Chronic exposure to addictive drugs in substance use disorders as well as stressors in mood disorders are known to render the brain more vulnerable to inflammation. Inflammation in the brain, or neuroinflammation, is characterized by gliosis, microglial activation, and sustained release of cytokines, chemokines, and pro-inflammatory factors compromising the permeability of the blood brain barrier. There is growing interest in understanding how substance misuse and/or repeated stress exposure affect inflammation and thereby contribute to abnormal neuronal activity, altered neuroplasticity, and impaired cognitive control, which eventually promote compulsive drug-use behaviors and worsen mood disorders. This review will emphasize human imaging studies to explore the link between brain function and peripheral markers of inflammation in substance use disorders and in mood disorders.