Homelessness and inhalants abuse: An interdisciplinary case study involving cognition, brain connectivity and social behavior

This paper presents an interdisciplinary case study of a man who had used inhalants for 15 years and had been homeless since childhood. He presented with reduced cerebral white matter and mild impairment of memory and attention. However, other cognitive and constructional abilities were intact and were functionally observed in activities related to work, play, and survival during his life on the street. Alterations in the orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortexes may be implicated in the participant’s inhalant abuse, while decreased functional connectivity involving the language network may explain the participant’s difficulty in verbally expressing his feelings and life story. Inhalants impair cerebral white matter, leading to cognitive, affective, and social inadequacies. However, the participant does not consume other substances and expressed healthy habits and empathic concern for others. In addition, street life creates community bonds and challenges people with stimuli that could mitigate the effects of inhalants.