Yu Rui, Liao Kaike, Chen Yuwei, Chen Xinyue, Peng Shiji, Li Xianfu, Liu Nian
Department of Radiology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong City, Sichuan Province, China.
Department of Radiation Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong City, Sichuan Province, China.
PeerJ. 2025 Aug 26;13:e19914. doi: 10.7717/peerj.19914. eCollection 2025.
It remains unclear if there are potentially associated abnormalities in gray matter (GM) and cognitive function in adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), and if there are associations with self-injury characteristics. Therefore, exploring the alterations in GM and cognitive functions and their associations with self-injury characteristics in adolescents with first-episode NSSI can provide imaging and clinical evidence for understanding the pathogenesis of NSSI.
In this cross-sectional study, we prospectively collected 29 adolescents (NSSI group) with first-episode NSSI and 28 healthy controls (HC group). Participants were scanned using a 3.0T MRI scanner. GM measures were extracted and compared between the NSSI group and the HC group using covariance analysis with total intracranial volume, age, sex, and years of education as covariates. Evaluate the cognitive functions of two groups and perform covariance analysis with years of education, age, and sex as covariates. The assessment of self-injury function was conducted using the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation and the Ottawa Self-Injury Inventory. With years of education as the control variable, partial correlation analysis is carried out between GM volume (GMV) and cognitive functions. A mediation effect analysis was conducted on GMV, cognitive function, and NSSI to explore the relationships among them.
The cognitive functions of the NSSI group are poorer than those of the HC group. Compared with the HC group, the NSSI group had decreased GMV in the left putamen and left nucleus accumbens and an increased GMV in the left rostral anterior cingulate cortex. In the NSSI group, the self-injury characteristics and poorer cognitive function are associated with abnormal alternations in GMV, and the poorer cognitive functions are also associated with the self-injury characteristics. The mediation analysis showed that the volume of the left rostral anterior cingulate cortex played a partial mediating role in the relationship between NSSI behavior and cognitive decline.
对于非自杀性自伤（NSSI）青少年的灰质（GM）和认知功能是否存在潜在相关异常，以及这些异常是否与自伤特征相关，目前尚不清楚。因此，探索首发NSSI青少年的GM和认知功能改变及其与自伤特征的关联，可为理解NSSI的发病机制提供影像学和临床证据。
在这项横断面研究中，我们前瞻性地收集了29名首发NSSI青少年（NSSI组）和28名健康对照者（HC组）。使用3.0T MRI扫描仪对参与者进行扫描。提取GM测量值，并以总颅内体积、年龄、性别和受教育年限作为协变量，通过协方差分析比较NSSI组和HC组。评估两组的认知功能，并以受教育年限、年龄和性别作为协变量进行协方差分析。使用贝克自杀意念量表和渥太华自伤量表对自伤功能进行评估。以受教育年限作为控制变量，对GM体积（GMV）与认知功能进行偏相关分析。对GMV、认知功能和NSSI进行中介效应分析，以探讨它们之间的关系。
NSSI组的认知功能比HC组差。与HC组相比，NSSI组左侧壳核和左侧伏隔核的GMV降低，左侧喙前扣带回皮质的GMV增加。在NSSI组中，自伤特征和较差的认知功能与GMV的异常改变相关，较差的认知功能也与自伤特征相关。中介分析表明，左侧喙前扣带回皮质的体积在NSSI行为与认知衰退之间的关系中起部分中介作用。
