Department of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea University, Anam-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Institute of Psychology, RWTH Aachen, Jägerstrasse, Aachen, Germany.
Neuroreport. 2021 Jun 9;32(9):762-770. doi: 10.1097/WNR.0000000000001653.
Modulation of cigarette craving and neuronal activations from nicotine-dependent cigarette smokers using real-time functional MRI (rtfMRI)-based neurofeedback (rtfMRI-NF) has been previously reported.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of rtfMRI-NF training in reducing cigarette cravings using fMRI data acquired before and after training.
Treatment-seeking male heavy cigarette smokers (N = 14) were enrolled and randomly assigned to two conditions related to rtfMRI-NF training aiming at resisting the urge to smoke. In one condition, subjects underwent conventional rtfMRI-NF training using neuronal activity as the neurofeedback signal (activity-based) within regions-of-interest (ROIs) implicated in cigarette craving. In another condition, subjects underwent rtfMRI-NF training with additional functional connectivity information included in the neurofeedback signal (functional connectivity-added). Before and after rtfMRI-NF training at each of two visits, participants underwent two fMRI runs with cigarette smoking stimuli and were asked to crave or resist the urge to smoke without neurofeedback. Cigarette craving-related or resistance-related regions were identified using a general linear model followed by paired t-tests and were evaluated using regression analysis on the basis of neuronal activation and subjective craving scores (CRSs).
Visual areas were mainly implicated in craving, whereas the superior frontal areas were associated with resistance. The degree of (a) CRS reduction and (b) the correlation between neuronal activation and CRSs were statistically significant (P < 0.05) in the functional connectivity-added neurofeedback group for craving-related ROIs.
Our study demonstrated the feasibility of altering cigarette craving in craving-related ROIs but not in resistance-related ROIs via rtfMRI-NF training.
先前已有研究报道，通过基于实时功能磁共振成像（rtfMRI）的神经反馈（rtfMRI-NF），对尼古丁依赖的吸烟人群的烟瘾和神经元激活进行调节。
本研究旨在通过训练前后的 fMRI 数据评估 rtfMRI-NF 训练对降低烟瘾的疗效。
本研究纳入了 14 名寻求治疗的男性重度吸烟人群，并将他们随机分配到两种与 rtfMRI-NF 训练相关的条件中，旨在抵抗吸烟的冲动。在一种条件下，研究对象接受了基于感兴趣区域（ROI）内神经元活动的神经反馈信号的常规 rtfMRI-NF 训练（基于活动的），这些 ROI 与吸烟渴求有关。在另一种条件下，研究对象接受了 rtfMRI-NF 训练，神经反馈信号中还包含了额外的功能连接信息（添加了功能连接）。在两次访视中的每次访视之前和之后，参与者都进行了两次 fMRI 扫描，扫描中呈现吸烟刺激，并要求他们在没有神经反馈的情况下渴望或抵抗吸烟的冲动。使用一般线性模型识别与吸烟渴求相关或与抵抗相关的区域，然后进行配对 t 检验，并根据神经元激活和主观渴求评分（CRS）进行回归分析进行评估。
视觉区域主要与渴求有关，而额上区与抵抗有关。在添加了功能连接的神经反馈组中，CRS 降低的程度和（b）神经元激活与 CRS 之间的相关性在与渴求相关的 ROI 中具有统计学意义（P<0.05）。
本研究表明，通过 rtfMRI-NF 训练，在与渴求相关的 ROI 中可以改变吸烟渴求的程度，但在与抵抗相关的 ROI 中不能改变。
