Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, 637000, China.
Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, 610041, China.
Sci Rep. 2024 Oct 23;14(1):24997. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-75714-5.
Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is one of the major public health problems endangering adolescents. However, the neural mechanisms of NSSI is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to explore regional brain activity and corresponding brain circuits in drug-naïve adolescents with NSSI using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) combined with functional connectivity (FC) analysis. Thirty-two drug-naïve adolescents with NSSI (NSSI group) and 29 healthy controls matched for sex, age, and level of education (HC group) were enrolled in this study. ALFF and seed-based FC analyses were used to examine the alterations in regional brain activity and corresponding brain circuits. The correlation between ALFF or FC values of aberrant brain regions and clinical characteristics were detected by Pearson correlation analysis. The NSSI group showed increased ALFF in the left inferior and middle occipital gyri, lingual gyrus, and fusiform gyrus; additionally, decreased ALFF in the right medial cingulate gyrus, left anterior cingulate gyrus, and left medial superior frontal gyrus compared to those in the HC group. With the left inferior occipital gyrus as seed, the NSSI group showed increased FC between the left inferior occipital gyrus and the bilateral superior parietal gyrus, right inferior parietal angular gyrus, right inferior frontal gyrus of the insular region, and left precuneus relative to that the HC group. With the left anterior cingulate gyrus as seed, the NSSI group showed increased FC between the left anterior cingulate gyrus and right dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus. With the left lingual gyrus as seed, the NSSI group showed increased FC between the left lingual gyrus and right middle frontal gyrus, and decreased FC between the left lingual gyrus and the left superior temporal gyrus, right supplementary motor area, and left rolandic operculum. With the left fusiform gyrus as seed, the NSSI group showed increased FC between the left fusiform gyrus and left middle and inferior temporal gyrus, and decreased FC between the left fusiform gyrus and the bilateral postcentral gyrus, right precentral gyrus, right lingual gyrus, and left inferior parietal angular gyrus. Moreover, the FC value between the left fusiform gyrus and left inferior temporal gyrus was positively correlated with suicidal ideations score. This study highlights alterations in regional brain activity and corresponding brain circuits in brain regions related to visual and emotional regulation functions in drug-naïve adolescents with NSSI. These findings may facilitate better understand the underlying neural mechanisms of NSSI in adolescents.
非自杀性自伤（NSSI）是危害青少年的主要公共卫生问题之一。然而，NSSI 的神经机制尚不清楚。本研究旨在采用低频振幅（ALFF）结合功能连接（FC）分析，探讨未经药物治疗的 NSSI 青少年的局部脑活动及相应的脑回路。本研究纳入了 32 例未经药物治疗的 NSSI 青少年（NSSI 组）和 29 例性别、年龄和教育程度相匹配的健康对照者（HC 组）。采用 ALFF 和种子点 FC 分析来检测局部脑活动和相应脑回路的改变。采用 Pearson 相关分析检测异常脑区的 ALFF 或 FC 值与临床特征的相关性。与 HC 组相比，NSSI 组的左侧下顶叶、舌回和梭状回的 ALFF 增加，右侧扣带回内侧回、左侧前扣带回和左侧额上回的 ALFF 减少。以左侧枕下回为种子点，NSSI 组左侧枕下回与双侧顶上回、右侧顶下小叶角回、右侧岛叶额下回和左侧楔前叶的 FC 增加。以左侧前扣带回为种子点，NSSI 组左侧前扣带回与右侧额上外侧回的 FC 增加。以左侧舌回为种子点，NSSI 组左侧舌回与右侧额中回的 FC 增加，与左侧颞上回、右侧辅助运动区和左侧 Rolandic 岛盖的 FC 减少。以左侧梭状回为种子点，NSSI 组左侧梭状回与左侧中颞叶和下颞叶的 FC 增加，与双侧中央后回、右侧中央前回、右侧舌回和左侧顶下小叶角回的 FC 减少。此外，左侧梭状回与左侧下颞叶的 FC 值与自杀意念评分呈正相关。本研究强调了未经药物治疗的 NSSI 青少年与视觉和情绪调节功能相关的脑区的局部脑活动和相应脑回路的改变。这些发现可能有助于更好地理解青少年 NSSI 的潜在神经机制。
