Homelessness and inhalant abuse: an interdisciplinary case study involving cognition, brain connectivity and social behavior

ABSTRACT

This work presents an interdisciplinary case study of a man who has used inhalants for 15 years and has been homeless since childhood. He exhibited a reduction in brain white matter and mild deterioration in memory and attention. However, other cognitive and construct abilities were intact and functionally observed in activities related to work, play, and survival during his life on the streets. Impairments in the orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortices may be implicated in the participant’s inhalant abuse, while decreased functional connectivity involving the language network may explain the participant’s difficulty to verbally express his feelings and life story. Inhalants impair brain white matter, resulting in cognitive, affective, and social insufficiencies. However, the participant does not use other substances and expressed healthy habits and empathic concern towards others. In addition, life on the street creates community bonds and challenges people with stimulation which could lessen the effects of inhalants.

KEYWORDS:

• Inhalants
• homelessness
• brain connectivity
• social behavior
• interdisciplinary approaches

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Acento Traducciones for editing this article. The authors are especially grateful to the participant for his cooperation and for kindly showing us his life on the street.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Sleep Disorders Clinic, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Unidad Iztapalapa, and the Department of Brain Images, Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñíz.

Notes on contributors

Arturo Hernández-Medina

Arturo Hernández-Medina is a PhD fellow in Biomedical Engineering at the National Council for Science and Technology and the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico. He is also a Professor in the Engineering School at the Universidad Autónoma de Queretaro. His research interests involve neuroimaging with emphasis in multimodal MRI applied to neurodegenerative diseases.

Lorena Paredes

Lorena Paredes is Master in Physical Anthropology at the National School of Anthropology and History, Mexico, in which she is currently coursing her PhD studies. She is a member of the international interdisciplinary team TRYSPACES and cofounder of Psicocalle Colectivo, an initiative to disseminate scientific knowledge about drug use among street youth.

Eduardo A. Garza-Villarreal

Eduardo A. Garza-Villarreal is a Medical Doctor and a Neuroscience researcher working in the field of Neurobiology and Neuropsychiatry. His research interest involve frontostriatal system in substance use and addiction, and neuropsychiatric disorders; identification of neuroimaging biomarkers in humans and animal models; action mechanisms and possible uses of neuromodulation methods; effects of music on the brain.

Roberto E. Mercadillo

Roberto E. Mercadillo is a fellow of the National Council for Science and Technology, Mexico, in the Neurosciences Area of the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Iztapalapa, and a Professor in the National School of Anthropology and History. His interests in scientific research include drug consumption, social emotions, and cognition in basic models and human populations in vulnerability.