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Association between functional brain alterations and neuropsychological scales in male chronic smokers using resting-state fMRI

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Abstract

Rationale

Recent studies have demonstrated that cigarette smoking is related to changes in brain structure and function. However, few studies focus on functional brain differences between male chronic smokers and nonsmokers in both local spontaneous activity and whole-brain functional networks.

Objectives

Our study recruited 67 chronic smokers and 43 nonsmokers who underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans to investigate functional activity and connectivity alterations in chronic smokers.

Methods

We used the mean fractional amplitude of the low-frequency fluctuation (mfALFF) and mean regional homogeneity (mReHo) methods to investigate resting-state spontaneous activity in chronic smokers and nonsmokers. The graph theoretical analysis (GTA) and network-based statistical (NBS) analysis were also used to investigate functional connectivity alterations.

Results

Compared with nonsmokers, chronic smokers exhibited higher activation in the reward system and portions of the prefrontal cortex but lower activation in the default mode networks (DMN) and visual-related regions. In addition, correlation analysis was conducted to assess the associations between neuroimaging findings and the severity of nicotine dependence or expectations of smoking effects. Our results showed that certain brain regions correlated with the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), the positive aspect of the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test Extended (DUDIT-E), and the negative aspect of the DUDIT-E, especially in the attentional control networks and hippocampus. The graph theoretical analysis (GTA) results indicated chronic smokers exhibited a trend toward increased assortativity. Our network-based statistical (NBS) analysis revealed reduced functional connections between the subnetwork in the prefrontal cortex, olfactory cortex, angular gyrus, and cingulate gyrus of chronic smokers.

Conclusions

We concluded that chronic smokers have neural adaptations in local spontaneous activity but remain healthy brain functional networks.

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Funding

This study was supported by the research program MOST105-2410-H-040-001-MY3 and MOST107-2221-E-182-054-MY3, which were sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan. This study was also supported by grants NMRPD1H0101~3 of Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Bachelor Program in Artificial Intelligence, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan

    Jun-Cheng Weng & Shih-Yu Huang

  2. Medical Imaging Research Center, Institute for Radiological Research, Chang Gung University and Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Linkou, Taoyuan, Taiwan

    Jun-Cheng Weng

  3. Department of Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chiayi, Taiwan

    Jun-Cheng Weng

  4. Department of Medical Laboratory and Biotechnology, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan

    Ming-Shih Lee

  5. Clinical Laboratory, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan

    Ming-Shih Lee

  6. Department of Psychology, Chung Shan Medical University, No.110, Sec. 1, Chien-Kuo N. Road, Taichung, Taiwan

    Ming-Chou Ho

  7. Clinical Psychological Room, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan

    Ming-Chou Ho

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  1. Jun-Cheng Weng
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Correspondence to Ming-Chou Ho.

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Weng, JC., Huang, SY., Lee, MS. et al. Association between functional brain alterations and neuropsychological scales in male chronic smokers using resting-state fMRI. Psychopharmacology 238, 1387–1399 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-021-05819-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-021-05819-6

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