Cai Zongyou, Wang Panying, Liu Bihua, Zou Yujian, Wu Songxiong, Tian Junru, Dan Guo, Ma Jinting, Wu Guangyao, Zhang Jian, Huang Bingsheng
Medical AI Lab, School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Room 508, Shenzhen, China.
Shenzhen University General Hospital Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Shenzhen, China.
Brain Imaging Behav. 2022 Apr;16(2):834-842. doi: 10.1007/s11682-021-00546-0. Epub 2021 Oct 4.
Previous studies have found that the striatum and the cerebellum played important roles in nicotine dependence, respectively. In heavy smokers, however, the effect of resting-state functional connectivity of cerebellum-striatum circuits in nicotine dependence remained unknown. This study aimed to explore the role of the circuit between the striatum and the cerebellum in addiction in heavy smokers using structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging. The grey matter volume differences and the resting-state functional connectivity differences in cerebellum-striatum circuits were investigated between 23 heavy smokers and 23 healthy controls. The cigarette dependence in heavy smokers and healthy controls were evaluated by using Fagerström Test. Then, we applied mediation analysis to test whether the resting-state functional connectivity between the striatum and the cerebellum mediates the relationship between the striatum morphometry and the nicotine dependence in heavy smokers. Compared with healthy controls, the heavy smokers' grey matter volumes decreased significantly in the cerebrum (bilateral), and increased significantly in the caudate (bilateral). Seed-based resting-state functional connectivity analysis showed significantly higher resting-state functional connectivity among the bilateral caudate, the left cerebellum, and the right middle temporal gyrus in heavy smokers. The cerebellum-striatum resting-state functional connectivity fully mediated the relationship between the striatum morphometry and the nicotine dependence in heavy smokers. Heavy smokers showed abnormal interactions and functional connectivity between the striatum and the cerebellum, which were associated with the striatum morphometry and nicotine dependence. Such findings could provide new insights into the neural correlates of nicotine dependence in heavy smokers.
以往的研究发现，纹状体和小脑在尼古丁依赖中分别发挥着重要作用。然而，在重度吸烟者中，小脑 - 纹状体回路静息态功能连接在尼古丁依赖中的作用尚不清楚。本研究旨在使用结构和功能磁共振成像来探究纹状体与小脑之间的回路在重度吸烟者成瘾中的作用。我们调查了23名重度吸烟者和23名健康对照者之间小脑 - 纹状体回路的灰质体积差异和静息态功能连接差异。使用Fagerström测试评估重度吸烟者和健康对照者的香烟依赖程度。然后，我们应用中介分析来检验纹状体与小脑之间的静息态功能连接是否介导了重度吸烟者纹状体形态学与尼古丁依赖之间的关系。与健康对照者相比，重度吸烟者大脑（双侧）的灰质体积显著减少，尾状核（双侧）的灰质体积显著增加。基于种子点的静息态功能连接分析显示，重度吸烟者双侧尾状核、左侧小脑和右侧颞中回之间的静息态功能连接显著更高。小脑 - 纹状体静息态功能连接完全介导了重度吸烟者纹状体形态学与尼古丁依赖之间的关系。重度吸烟者在纹状体和小脑之间表现出异常的相互作用和功能连接，这与纹状体形态学和尼古丁依赖有关。这些发现可为重度吸烟者尼古丁依赖的神经相关性提供新的见解。
