Wu Xiaomeng, Ma Lifei, Yin Qiufeng, Liu Ming, Wu Kyle, Wang Dengbin
Philips (China) Investment Co., Ltd, Shanghai, China.
Department of Radiology, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Front Neurol. 2023 May 19;14:1102335. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1102335. eCollection 2023.
Face masks are widely used in daily life because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this study was to explore the impact of wearing face masks on brain functions by using resting-state functional MRI (RS-fMRI).
Scanning data from 15 healthy subjects (46.20 ± 6.67 years) were collected in this study. Each subject underwent RS-fMRI scans under two comparative conditions, wearing a KN95 mask and natural breathing (no mask). The amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and functional connectivity under the two conditions were analyzed and then compared using the paired -test.
Compared with those of the no-mask condition, the ALFF activities when wearing masks were increased significantly in the right middle frontal gyrus, bilateral precuneus, right superior marginal gyrus, left inferior parietal gyrus, and left supplementary motor area and decreased significantly in the anterior cingulate gyrus, right fusiform gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus, bilateral lingual gyrus, and bilateral calcarine cortex ( < 0.05). Taking the posterior cingulate cortex area as a seed point, the correlations with the occipital cortex, prefrontal lobe, and motor sensory cortex were sensitive to wearing masks compared with not wearing masks ( < 0.05). Taking the medial prefrontal cortex region as a seed point, the functional connectivity with the bilateral temporal lobe, bilateral motor sensory cortex, and occipital lobe was influenced by wearing a KN95 mask ( < 0.05).
This study demonstrated that wearing a KN95 face mask can cause short-term changes in human resting brain function. Both local neural activities and functional connectivity in brain regions were sensitive to mask wearing. However, the neural mechanism causing these changes and its impact on cognitive function still need further investigation.
由于新冠疫情，口罩在日常生活中被广泛使用。本研究的目的是通过静息态功能磁共振成像（RS-fMRI）探索佩戴口罩对脑功能的影响。
本研究收集了15名健康受试者（46.20±6.67岁）的扫描数据。每位受试者在两种对比条件下接受RS-fMRI扫描，即佩戴KN95口罩和自然呼吸（不戴口罩）。分析两种条件下的低频振幅（ALFF）和功能连接性，然后使用配对t检验进行比较。
与不戴口罩的情况相比，佩戴口罩时右侧额中回、双侧楔前叶、右侧顶上小叶、左侧顶下小叶和左侧辅助运动区的ALFF活动显著增加，而前扣带回、右侧梭状回、左侧颞上回、双侧舌回和双侧距状皮质的ALFF活动显著减少（P<0.05）。以后扣带回皮质区域为种子点，与枕叶皮质、前额叶和运动感觉皮质的相关性在佩戴口罩与不佩戴口罩时相比对佩戴口罩敏感（P<0.05）。以内侧前额叶皮质区域为种子点，佩戴KN95口罩会影响与双侧颞叶、双侧运动感觉皮质和枕叶的功能连接（P<0.05）。
本研究表明，佩戴KN95口罩可导致人类静息脑功能的短期变化。脑区的局部神经活动和功能连接性对佩戴口罩均敏感。然而，导致这些变化的神经机制及其对认知功能的影响仍需进一步研究。
