Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Pattern Recognition and Intelligent Image Processing, School of Information Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, Baotou, China.
School of Information Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Technology, Huhhot, China.
Addict Biol. 2022 Mar;27(2):e13132. doi: 10.1111/adb.13132.
Previous diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies had investigated the white matter (WM) integrity abnormalities in smokers. Exposure to nicotine disrupts neurodevelopment during adolescence, possibly by disrupting the trophic effects of acetylcholine. However, little is known about the diffusion parameters of specific fibre bundles at multiple locations in young smokers. Thirty-seven young smokers and 29 age-, education- and gender-matched healthy non-smokers participated in this study. Automated Fibre Quantification (AFQ) was employed to investigate the WM microstructure in young smokers by integrating multiple indices. Diffusion parameters, that is, fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusion (AD), radial diffusion (RD) and mean diffusion (MD), were calculated at 100 points along the length of 18 major brain tracts. The relationships between neuroimaging differences and smoking behaviours were explored, including Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence (FTND) and pack-years. Compared with non-smokers, young smokers showed significantly increased FA, AD and decreased RD in the left uncinate fasciculus (UF) and right thalamic radiation (TR), increased AD, RD and decreased FA in the right arcuate fasciculus (Arc). Correlation analyses revealed that FA values of the left UF and RD values of the right Arc were negatively correlated with FTND score in smokers and FA values of the right Arc were positively correlated with FTND scores. Positive correlation was observed between AD values of the left UF and pack-years in smokers. The findings enhanced our understanding of the potential effect of adolescent smoking on WM microstructure.
先前的弥散张量成像（DTI）研究已经调查了吸烟者的白质（WM）完整性异常。暴露于尼古丁会破坏青少年时期的神经发育，可能是通过破坏乙酰胆碱的营养作用。然而，对于青少年吸烟者在多个部位的特定纤维束的扩散参数知之甚少。本研究纳入了 37 名年轻吸烟者和 29 名年龄、教育程度和性别匹配的健康非吸烟者。通过整合多个指标，采用自动纤维定量（AFQ）技术来研究年轻吸烟者的 WM 微观结构。在 18 条主要脑束的长度上计算了 100 个点的扩散参数，即各向异性分数（FA）、轴向扩散（AD）、径向扩散（RD）和平均扩散（MD）。探讨了神经影像学差异与吸烟行为之间的关系，包括尼古丁依赖测试（FTND）和吸烟包年数。与非吸烟者相比，年轻吸烟者的左侧钩束（UF）和右侧丘脑辐射（TR）的 FA、AD 增加，RD 减少；右侧弓状束（Arc）的 AD、RD 增加，FA 减少。相关性分析显示，吸烟者左侧 UF 的 FA 值与 FTND 评分呈负相关，右侧 Arc 的 RD 值与 FTND 评分呈正相关。吸烟者左侧 UF 的 AD 值与吸烟包年数呈正相关。这些发现增强了我们对青少年吸烟对 WM 微观结构潜在影响的理解。
