Exploration of gray matter alterations and cognitive function impairment in adolescents with first-episode non-suicidal self-injury and the associations with self-injury characteristics.

BACKGROUND

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.

METHODS

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.

RESULTS

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.