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Altered human brain anatomy in chronic smokers: a review of magnetic resonance imaging studies

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Abstract

Cigarette smoking is becoming more prevalent in developing countries, such as China, and is the largest single cause of preventable death worldwide. New emerging reports are highlighting how chronic cigarette smoking plays a role in neural dysfunctions, such as cognitive decline. Basic animal experimental studies have shown that rats undergo persistent pathological brain changes after being given chronic levels of nicotine. What is perhaps less appreciated is the fact that chronic cigarette smoking induces subtle anatomical changes in the human brain. Consequently, this chapter aims to summarize and integrate the existing magnetic resonance imaging studies on both gray- and white-matter marcostructural and microstructural changes. The reviewed studies demonstrate that chronic cigarette smoking results in discrete and localized alterations in brain region tissue (both the gray and white matter of different brain regions), which may, in part, be responsible for different neural dysfunctions. In addition, we further discuss the possible pathological and neurobiological mechanisms of these nicotinic effects on the brain tissue. We will also address the limitations of the current studies on this issue and identify opportunities for future research.

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The authors report no competing biomedical financial interests or personal affiliations in connection with the content of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, No. 88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, 310009, China

    Chao Wang, Xiaojun Xu, Wei Qian, Zhujing Shen & Minming Zhang

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  1. Chao Wang
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  2. Xiaojun Xu
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  3. Wei Qian
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Correspondence to Minming Zhang.

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This paper was supported by grants from Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) surface project (grant nos. 81171310) and science and technology planning project of Zhejiang Province (grant 2011C23094).

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Wang, C., Xu, X., Qian, W. et al. Altered human brain anatomy in chronic smokers: a review of magnetic resonance imaging studies. Neurol Sci 36, 497–504 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-015-2065-9

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