Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Lohan Appears To Suffer Prefrontal Cortex Dopamine Deficiency

Numerous celebrities, including Lindsay Lohan, continue to relapse, after repeated treatment episodes, consisting primarily of talk therapy. Talk therapy and 12 Step programs, seldom succeed, if neurochemical imbalances are not corrected.

Repeated DUI and cocaine arrests, automobile collisions and substance abuse relapses indicate Lindsay Lohan suffers from a biological reward deficiency syndrome, caused by a prefrontal cortex dopamine deficiency. Despite addiction treatment at Wonderland and Promises Malibu, Ms. Lohan has relapsed again. Although the Wonderland rehab offers psychiatric treatment, it apparently has not successfully treated Lindsay Lohan’s dopamine deficiency. The Promises Malibu treatment program apparently does not offer medical treatment of dopamine deficiency and the many varieties of talk therapy offered there, would not be adequate to treat Lindsay Lohan’s apparent dopamine deficiency.

The following Positron Emission Tomography (PET) brain scans indicate dopamine neurotransmitter levels did not completely normalize, with 100 days of cocaine abstinence.

Photo courtesy of Nora Volkow, Ph.D. Volkow ND, Hitzemann R, Wang G-J, Fowler JS, Wolf AP, Dewey SL. Long-term frontal brain metabolic changes in cocaine abusers. Synapse 11:184-190, 1992; Volkow ND, Fowler JS, Wang G-J, Hitzemann R, Logan J, Schlyer D, Dewey S, Wolf AP. Decreased dopamine D2 receptor availability is associated with reduced frontal metabolism in cocaine abusers. Synapse 14:169-177, 1993. Slide 8: Long-term effects of drug abuse.

This PET scan shows us that once addicted to a drug like cocaine, the brain is affected for a long, long time. In other words, once addicted, the brain is literally changed.

In this slide, the level of brain function is indicated in yellow. The top row shows a normal-functioning brain without drugs. You can see a lot of brain activity. In other words, there is a lot of yellow color.

The middle row shows a cocaine addict’s brain after 10 days without any cocaine use at all. What is happening here? Less yellow means less normal activity occurring in the brain – even after the cocaine abuser has abstained from the drug for 10 days.

The third row shows the same addict’s brain after 100 days without any cocaine. We can see a little more yellow, so there is some improvement – more brain activity – at this point. But the addict’s brain is still not back to a normal level of functioning… more than 3 months later. Scientists are concerned that there may be areas in the brain that never fully recover from drug abuse and addiction.

Dr. Bankole Johnson, Chairman of Psychiatric Medicine, at University of Virginia, states “Dopamine is responsible for a lot of pleasurable experiences.” Eating triples dopamine levels. “Sex is 10 times the normal surge and cocaine is 100 times the normal surge. If you told someone to give up sex, it would be very hard, so you can imagine how hard it is to ask someone to give up cocaine.” Charlottesville Daily Progress, May 31, 2006

Published studies have found adequate treatment of dopamine deficiency reduced substance abuse 85 percent. Provigil, a medication which increases glutamate neurotransmitter levels, has also demonstrated an ability to increase cocaine abstinence. http://www.nida.nih.gov/NIDA_notes/NNvol20N3/Modafinil.html

Alcohol temporarily increases dopamine levels. During early alcohol abstinence, glutamate neurotransmitter levels are excessive, while gamma amino butyric acid (GABA), serotonin and dopamine levels are too low. Russian research indicates alcohol craving occurs, with lower levo dopa, dopamine and norepinephrine levels. Medications, including Naltrexone, Acamprosate, Topiramate and Odansetron have proven useful, during early alcohol abstinence. Odansetron reduced drinks per day, approximately 53 percent, in early age onset alcoholics. Studies reveal serotonin levels remain reduced, for at least 3 months, during early alcohol abstinence.

Figure 4. Lower Striatal Dopamine D2 Receptor Binding in Drug Users During Withdrawal From Cocaine, Methamphetamine, and Alcohol Than in Normal Comparison Subjects

Rita Z. Goldstein, Ph.D. and Nora D. Volkow, M.D.
Drug Addiction and Its Underlying Neurobiological Basis: Neuroimaging Evidence for the Involvement of the Frontal Cortex Am J Psychiatry 159:1642-1652, October 2002

Frequently, alcohol abuse also produces nutritional deficiencies, including Chromium, Magnesium, Zinc and B vitamins Gastrointestinal problems, including increased intestinal permeability, fungal overgrowth, gastritis and gastroesophogeal reflux, frequently require treatment. . Hypoglycemia and hidden food allergies also frequently accompany alcohol abuse. Liver detoxification is frequently helpful, in alcohol treatment.

Although Lindsay Lohan’s father, Michael Lohan, appears to have achieved a genuine spiritual recovery from alcoholism implementing the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and his faith in God, Lindsay will likely require correction of her dopamine neurotransmitter levels before she is capable of benefiting significantly from 12 step or psychotherapy treatments. Until she has achieved some genuine recovery, she must not be allowed to endanger the public by operating a motor vehicle.

Neurotransmitter testing and brain neuroimaging would aid diagnosis and treatment, of Lindsay Lohan.