Dynamic Neuroimaging Biomarkers of Smoking in Young Smokers

Ting Xue; Fang Dong; Ruoyan Huang; Zhanlong Tao; Jun Tang; Yongxin Cheng; Mi Zhou; Yiting Hu; Xiaojian Li; Dahua Yu; Haitao Ju; Kai Yuan

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00663

Dynamic Neuroimaging Biomarkers of Smoking in Young Smokers

Front Psychiatry. 2020 Jul 10:11:663. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00663. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Ting Xue^{1

2}, Fang Dong², Ruoyan Huang², Zhanlong Tao¹, Jun Tang¹, Yongxin Cheng², Mi Zhou², Yiting Hu², Xiaojian Li², Dahua Yu², Haitao Ju³, Kai Yuan^{2

4}

Affiliations

¹ School of Science, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, Baotou, China.
² Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Pattern Recognition and Intelligent Image Processing, School of Information Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, Baotou, China.
³ Department of Neurosurgery, Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, China.
⁴ Life Sciences Research Center, School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, China.

Abstract

Objective: To examine potential changes in the dynamic characteristics of regional neural activity in young smokers and to detect whether the changes were associated with smoking behavior.

Methods: The dynamic regional homogeneity (dReHo) and dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (dALFF) in 40 young smokers and 42 nonsmokers were compared. Correlation analyses were also performed between dReHo and dALFF in areas showing group differences and smoking behavior [e.g., the Fagerström Test for Nicotine dependence (FTND) scores and pack-years].

Results: Significantly differences in dReHo variability were observed in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), superior frontal gyrus (SFG), medial frontal gyrus (MFG), insula, cuneus, postcentral gyrus, inferior semi-lunar lobule, orbitofrontal gyrus, and inferior temporal gyrus (ITG). Young smokers also showed significantly increased dALFF variability in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and ITG. Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was found between dALFF variability in the ACC and the pack-years; whereas a significant negative correlation between dReHo variability in the IFG and the FTND scores was found in young smokers.

Conclusion: The pattern of resting state regional neural activity variability was different between young smokers and nonsmokers. Dynamic regional indexes might be a novel neuroimaging biomarker of smoking behavior in young smokers.

Keywords: amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF); dynamic; regional homogeneity (ReHo); resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI); young smokers.