Resting-state functional connectivity and structural differences between smokers and healthy non-smokers

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging
• Addiction Research

Background:

• Cigarette use is linked to altered brain functional connectivity and cortical atrophy.
• Understanding neural differences between smokers and non-smokers requires integrated functional and structural analyses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate neural differences between smokers and non-smokers using combined functional and structural neuroimaging.
• To explore the relationship between smoking intensity and brain network alterations.

Main Methods:

• Analyzed resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) using independent component analysis in 52 smokers and 45 non-smokers.
• Integrated rsFC data with grey matter volume measures to identify structural correlates.
• Correlated daily cigarette consumption and carbon monoxide levels with rsFC within smokers.

Main Results:

• Smokers exhibited lower rsFC in the dorsal attention network (DAN) compared to non-smokers, with associated grey matter reduction in frontal and orbitofrontal regions.
• Within smokers, higher daily consumption correlated with altered rsFC in cerebellar, default mode, visual, and salience networks.
• Carbon monoxide levels positively associated with increased sensorimotor network rsFC.

Conclusions:

• Smoking negatively impacts rsFC within the dorsal attention network (DAN).
• Observed changes in the DAN may serve as a circuit-based biomarker for smoking-related structural deficits.
• Neuroimaging reveals significant functional and structural brain alterations associated with cigarette use.