Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 20, 2025

Brain Morphology of Cannabis Users With or Without Psychosis: A Pilot MRI Study
Published on: August 18, 2020
Smoking affects global and regional brain entropy in depression patients regardless of depression: Preliminary
Halil Aziz Velioglu1, Sultan Yıldız2, Ece Ozdemir-Oktem3
1Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA; Functional Imaging and Cognitive-Affective Neuroscience Lab (fINCAN), Health Sciences and Technology Research Institute (SABITA), Istanbul Medipol University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Objective:
This study examines the effect of smoking on global and regional brain entropy in patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), aiming to elucidate the relationship between smoking habits and brain network complexity in depression.
Methods:
The study enrolled 24 MDD patients, divided into smokers and non-smokers, from Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University and Istanbul Medipol University. Resting-state fMRI data were acquired and processed. The complexity of neuronal activity was assessed using dispersion entropy, with statistical significance determined by a suite of tests including Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Student's t-test, and Mann-Whitney U test.
Results:
The smoking cohort exhibited higher global brain entropy compared to the non-smoking group (p = 0.033), with significant differences in various brain networks, indicating that smoking may alter global brain activity and network dynamics in individuals with MDD.
Conclusion:
The study provides evidence that smoking is associated with increased brain entropy in MDD patients, suggesting that chronic smoking may influence cognitive and emotional networks. This underscores the importance of considering smoking history in the treatment and prognosis of MDD. The findings call for further research to understand the mechanistic links between smoking, brain entropy, and depression.
Related Concept Videos
CNS Depressants: Alcohol and Nicotine
Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques IV
Stress and Mental Health
Individuals with depression often experience challenges in both their personal and professional...
Depressive Disorders: Etiology
Biological Factors in Depression
Biological predispositions significantly influence the risk of developing depressive disorders. Genetic studies highlight the role of variations in the serotonin transporter...
Stimulants
Cocaine can be administered via snorting, injection, or smoking. It primarily functions by blocking the reuptake of dopamine, resulting in a euphoric high characterized by an intense sensation of happiness and...
Antidepressant Drugs: MAOIs and Other Agents

