Bi Yanzhi, Zhang Yajuan, Li Yangding, Yu Dahua, Yuan Kai, Tian Jie
School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, PR China.
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Multi-source Information Mining and Security, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, PR China.
Drug Alcohol Depend. 2017 Jul 1;176:162-168. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2017.02.019. Epub 2017 May 15.
The strong craving to smoke is a core factor of smoking abstinence that precipitates relapse. Insula plays critical roles in maintaining nicotine dependence, especially in the interoceptive awareness of craving. Despite evidence indicating a link between insula and abstinence-induced craving, less is known about the neural basis of abstinence-induced craving from the circuit level of insula.
The present study examined the effects of 12h of abstinence from smoking on the resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) of anterior (AI) and posterior insula in young smokers using a within-subject design. Thirty-three young male smokers underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning on two separate sessions: (1) smoking satiety and (2) abstinence (after ≥12h of smoking deprivation), in counterbalanced order. Multiple regression analysis was applied to investigate the possible relationships between the RSFC changes of insula (abstinence minus satiety) and the abstinence-induced craving changes.
Smoking abstinence state (versus satiety) was associated with increased RSFC between right AI and right medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), ventromedial prefrontal cortex as well as anterior cingulate cortex. The abstinence-induced RSFC changes between right AI and right lateral OFC was significantly correlated with the craving changes.
These findings improve the understanding of the effects of short-term smoking abstinence on insula circuit connectivity and may contribute new insights into the neural basis of abstinence-induced craving to smoke.
强烈的吸烟渴望是导致戒烟后复吸的核心因素。脑岛在维持尼古丁依赖中起关键作用，尤其是在对渴望的内感受性觉知方面。尽管有证据表明脑岛与戒烟引发的渴望之间存在联系，但从脑岛的神经回路层面来看，对于戒烟引发渴望的神经基础了解较少。
本研究采用被试内设计，考察了年轻吸烟者戒烟12小时对其前脑岛（AI）和后脑岛静息态功能连接（RSFC）的影响。33名年轻男性吸烟者在两个不同时段接受了功能磁共振成像扫描：（1）吸烟后饱腹感状态和（2）戒烟状态（在吸烟剥夺≥12小时后），扫描顺序采用平衡抵消法。运用多元回归分析来探究脑岛RSFC变化（戒烟状态减去饱腹感状态）与戒烟引发的渴望变化之间的可能关系。
与饱腹感状态相比，戒烟状态与右侧AI和右侧内侧眶额皮质（OFC）、腹内侧前额叶皮质以及前扣带回皮质之间的RSFC增加有关。右侧AI和右侧外侧OFC之间由戒烟引发的RSFC变化与渴望变化显著相关。
这些发现增进了我们对短期戒烟对脑岛回路连接影响的理解，并可能为戒烟引发吸烟渴望的神经基础提供新的见解。
