Textural changes in the amygdala are more sensitive than volumetric changes in cocaine use disorder patients undergoing therapy

Motivation: Neuroimaging improves treatment response classification in cocaine use disorder (CUD), often relying on brain morphometry to track changes. Multiple studies report that MRI textural changes predict earlier changes than volumetric changes in Alzheimer’s disease. We aim to apply textural analysis to multi-timepoint CUD MRI data. Goal(s): Our work investigates changes in the amygdala volume and texture in CUD patients undergoing repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Approach: We computed the volumetric and textural changes over time and compared the relative temporal sensitivities. Results: The relative temporal sensitivity of textural changes in the amygdala is higher than volumetric changes in CUD patients undergoing rTMS. Impact: Textural changes in MRI become noticeable before volumetric changes, offering additional insights into ongoing therapy complementary to clinical measures. This allows for personalized treatment, utilizing each individual's baseline data as their internal reference.