Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, China.
Research Center of Clinical Medical Imaging, Anhui Province, Hefei, 230032, China.
Mol Neurobiol. 2024 Sep;61(9):6407-6422. doi: 10.1007/s12035-024-03962-7. Epub 2024 Feb 3.
Previous neuroimaging research has established associations between urban exposure during early life and alterations in brain function and structure. However, the molecular mechanisms and behavioral relevance of these associations remain largely unknown. Here, we aimed to address this question using a combined analysis of multimodal data. Initially, we calculated amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and gray matter volume (GMV) using resting-state functional and structural MRI to investigate their associations with early-life urbanization in a large sample of 511 healthy young adults. Then, we examined the spatial relationships of the identified neural correlates of early-life urbanization with gene expression, neurotransmitter, and behavioral domain atlases. Results showed that higher early-life urbanization scores were correlated with increased ALFF of the right fusiform gyrus and decreased GMV of the left dorsal medial prefrontal cortex and left precuneus. Remarkably, the identified neural correlates of early-life urbanization were spatially correlated with expression of gene categories primarily involving immune system process, signal transduction, and cellular metabolic process. Concurrently, there were significant associations between the neural correlates and specific neurotransmitter systems including dopamine, acetylcholine, and serotonin. Finally, we found that the ALFF correlates were associated with behavioral terms including "perception," "sensory," "cognitive control," and "reasoning." Apart from expanding existing knowledge of early-life urban environmental risk for mental disorders and health in general, our findings may contribute to an emerging framework for integrating social science, neuroscience, genetics, and public policy to respond to the major health challenge of world urbanization.
先前的神经影像学研究已经证实，儿童早期的城市暴露与大脑功能和结构的改变之间存在关联。然而，这些关联的分子机制和行为相关性在很大程度上仍然未知。在这里，我们使用多模态数据的综合分析来解决这个问题。首先，我们使用静息态功能和结构 MRI 计算了低频振幅（ALFF）和灰质体积（GMV），以研究它们与 511 名健康年轻成年人早期生活城市化之间的关联。然后，我们检查了确定的早期生活城市化神经关联与基因表达、神经递质和行为领域图谱之间的空间关系。结果表明，较高的早期生活城市化评分与右侧梭状回的 ALFF 增加和左侧背内侧前额叶皮层和左侧楔前叶 GMV 的减少有关。值得注意的是，早期生活城市化的确定神经关联与主要涉及免疫系统过程、信号转导和细胞代谢过程的基因类别表达具有空间相关性。同时，神经关联与包括多巴胺、乙酰胆碱和血清素在内的特定神经递质系统之间存在显著关联。最后，我们发现 ALFF 相关性与“感知”、“感觉”、“认知控制”和“推理”等行为术语有关。除了扩展现有的关于儿童早期城市环境对精神障碍和一般健康风险的知识外，我们的研究结果可能有助于为整合社会科学、神经科学、遗传学和公共政策以应对世界城市化带来的主要健康挑战提供一个新的框架。
