Department of Radiology, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Brain Cogn. 2024 Nov;181:106223. doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2024.106223. Epub 2024 Oct 8.
This study aims to explore the impact of smoking on intrinsic brain activity among high-altitude (HA) populations. Smoking is associated with various neural alterations, but it remains unclear whether smokers in HA environments exhibit specific neural characteristics.
We employed ALFF and fALFF methods across different frequency bands to investigate differences in brain functional activity between high-altitude smokers and non-smokers. 31 smokers and 31 non-smokers from HA regions participated, undergoing resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans. ALFF/fALFF values were compared between the two groups. Correlation analyses explored relationships between brain activity and clinical data.
Smokers showed increased ALFF values in the right superior frontal gyrus (R-SFG), right middle frontal gyrus (R-MFG), right anterior cingulate cortex (R-ACC), right inferior frontal gyrus (R-IFG), right superior/medial frontal gyrus (R-MSFG), and left SFG compared to non-smokers in HA. In sub-frequency bands (0.01-0.027 Hz and 0.027-0.073 Hz), smokers showed increased ALFF values in R-SFG, R-MFG, right middle cingulate cortex (R-MCC), R-MSFG, Right precentral gyrus and L-SFG while decreased fALFF values were noted in the right postcentral and precentral gyrus in the 0.01-0.027 Hz band. Negative correlations were found between ALFF values in the R-SFG and smoking years.
Our study reveals the neural characteristics of smokers in high-altitude environments, highlighting the potential impact of smoking on brain function. These results provide new insights into the neural mechanisms of high-altitude smoking addiction and may inform the development of relevant intervention measures.
本研究旨在探讨吸烟对高海拔（HA）人群内在大脑活动的影响。吸烟与各种神经改变有关，但目前尚不清楚高海拔环境中的吸烟者是否表现出特定的神经特征。
我们采用不同频带的 ALFF 和 fALFF 方法，研究高海拔吸烟者和非吸烟者之间大脑功能活动的差异。来自高海拔地区的 31 名吸烟者和 31 名非吸烟者参与了本研究，进行了静息态功能磁共振成像（rs-fMRI）扫描。比较了两组之间的 ALFF/fALFF 值。相关性分析探讨了大脑活动与临床数据之间的关系。
与非吸烟者相比，HA 地区的吸烟者右侧额上回（R-SFG）、右侧额中回（R-MFG）、右侧前扣带回（R-ACC）、右侧额下回（R-IFG）、右侧额上回/中回（R-MSFG）和左侧额上回（SFG）的 ALFF 值增加。在亚频带（0.01-0.027 Hz 和 0.027-0.073 Hz）中，吸烟者在 R-SFG、R-MFG、右侧中扣带回（R-MCC）、R-MSFG、右侧中央前回和左侧额上回（SFG）中 ALFF 值增加，而在 0.01-0.027 Hz 带中右侧中央后回和中央前回的 fALFF 值降低。R-SFG 的 ALFF 值与吸烟年限呈负相关。
本研究揭示了高海拔环境中吸烟者的神经特征，强调了吸烟对大脑功能的潜在影响。这些结果为高海拔吸烟成瘾的神经机制提供了新的见解，并可能为相关干预措施的制定提供信息。
