Credit: Mount Sinai Health System
Structural connections with the prefrontal cortex modeled from targeted nuclei in the subcortex (blue: habenula, yellow: anterior thalamus, red: ventral tegmental area) using diffusion MRI tractography. Microstructural properties of the habenula tract were uniquely reduced in individuals with cocaine or heroin use disorder. Results highlight the potential specificity of distinct prefrontal cortical connections to the neuropathology of drug addiction.