He Xiaofu, Rodriguez-Moreno Diana V, Cycowicz Yael M, Cheslack-Postava Keely, Tang Huilan, Wang Zhishun, Amsel Lawrence V, Ryan Megan, Geronazzo-Alman Lupo, Musa George J, Bisaga Adam, Hoven Christina W
Department of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
The New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
Neuroimage Rep. 2021 Sep;1(3). doi: 10.1016/j.ynirp.2021.100037. Epub 2021 Jul 22.
A family history (FH+) of substance use disorder (SUD) increases an adolescent's risk for substance use initiation and progression. Greater impulsivity and reward seeking behavior is known to be associated with such risk. At the neurological level, dysfunction of cortico-striatal and cortico-limbic pathways have been proposed as contributors to the increased SUD risk in adolescents with FH+. In addition, disadvantaged environments have been associated with atypical brain connectivity and higher SUD risk. However, it remains unclear if this increased risk is manifested in structural and functional brain abnormalities prior to regular drug use. To examine this, we employed complementary imaging of structural and functional connectivity of 60 FH+ and 55 FH- minority adolescents, all from families with low socio-economic status. We acquired diffusion tensor-imaging (DTI) and resting state fMRI data across the whole brain. Structural connectivity was examined by measuring fractional anisotropy (FA) using DTI, to indicate integrity of the white matter tracts. Functional connectivity within and between resting state networks was assessed by the correlation of blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal between intra and inter-network nodes. Psychological measures of impulsivity and reward seeking were also obtained with standardized measures, the BIS-11 and the BIS/BAS, and their association with FA and functional connectivity was evaluated. We found no differences in white matter integrity between the groups. Compared to FH-, FH + adolescents showed significantly greater functional connectivity between posterior regions of the Default Mode Network (DMN) and the Fronto-Parietal Network (FPN). While psychological measures of reward seeking behavior did not differ between the FH+ and FH- groups, impulsivity, assessed by the BIS-11, was significantly higher for FH+. However, we did not find significant differences between the FH+ and FH- groups when comparing associations of BIS-11 scores and white matter integrity or functional connectivity measures. The stronger inter-network functional connectivity between the DMN and FPN in FH + adolescents suggests that transmitted risk for SUD may be related to large-scale brain dynamics. The lack of structural differences support the importance of early prevention efforts for FH + adolescents, before initiation of drug use, allowing for healthy brain development.
物质使用障碍（SUD）的家族史（FH+）会增加青少年开始使用和继续使用物质的风险。已知更强的冲动性和寻求奖励行为与这种风险相关。在神经学层面，皮质-纹状体和皮质-边缘通路功能障碍被认为是FH+青少年SUD风险增加的原因。此外，不利环境与非典型脑连接和更高的SUD风险有关。然而，尚不清楚这种增加的风险是否在规律药物使用之前就表现为脑结构和功能异常。为了研究这一点，我们对60名FH+和55名FH-的少数族裔青少年进行了结构和功能连接的补充成像，他们均来自社会经济地位较低的家庭。我们获取了全脑的扩散张量成像（DTI）和静息状态功能磁共振成像（fMRI）数据。通过使用DTI测量分数各向异性（FA）来检查结构连接性，以表明白质束的完整性。通过网络内和网络间节点之间血氧水平依赖（BOLD）信号的相关性来评估静息状态网络内部和之间的功能连接性。还使用标准化测量工具BIS-11和BIS/BAS获得了冲动性和寻求奖励的心理测量指标，并评估了它们与FA和功能连接性的关联。我们发现两组之间白质完整性没有差异。与FH-青少年相比，FH+青少年在默认模式网络（DMN）和额顶叶网络（FPN）的后部区域之间表现出明显更强的功能连接。虽然FH+组和FH-组在寻求奖励行为的心理测量指标上没有差异，但通过BIS-11评估的冲动性在FH+组中显著更高。然而，在比较BIS-11评分与白质完整性或功能连接性测量指标的关联时，我们没有发现FH+组和FH-组之间存在显著差异。FH+青少年中DMN和FPN之间更强的网络间功能连接表明，SUD的传递风险可能与大规模脑动力学有关。结构差异的缺乏支持了在FH+青少年开始使用药物之前进行早期预防努力的重要性，以促进健康的脑发育。
