title: Striatal morphology is associated with tobacco cigarette craving.
abstract: The striatum has a clear role in addictive disorders and is involved in drug-related craving. Recently, enhanced striatal volume was associated with greater lifetime nicotine exposure, suggesting a bridge between striatal function and structural phenotypes. To assess this link between striatal structure and function, we evaluated the relationship between striatal morphology and this brain region's well-established role in craving. In tobacco smokers, we assessed striatal volume, surface area, and shape using a new segmentation methodology coupled with local shape indices. Striatal morphology was then related with two measures of craving: state-based craving, assessed by the brief questionnaire of smoking urges (QSU), and craving induced by smoking-related images. A positive association was found between left striatal volume and surface area with both measures of craving. A more specific relationship was found between both craving measures and the dorsal, but not in ventral striatum. Evaluating dorsal striatal subregions showed a single relationship between the caudate and QSU. Although cue-induced craving and the QSU were both associated with enlarged striatal volume and surface area, these measures were differentially associated with global or more local striatal volumes. We also report a connection between greater right striatal shape deformations and cue-induced craving. Shape deformations associated with cue-induced craving were specific to striatal subregions involved in habitual responding to rewarding stimuli, which is relevant given the habitual nature of cue-induced craving. The current findings confirm a relationship between striatal function and morphology and suggest that variation in striatal morphology may be a biomarker for craving severity.
authors: McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, USA.
authors: Amy C
authors: AC
authors: Janes
authors: Cerebral Imaging Centre, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors: Min Tae M
authors: MT
authors: Park
authors: McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA, USA.
authors: Stacey
authors: S
authors: Farmer
authors: 1] Cerebral Imaging Centre, Douglas Mental Health University Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada [2] Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
authors: M Mallar
authors: MM
authors: Chakravarty
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000473:pathology*; D066249:Craving; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012907:Smoking / Q000473:pathology*; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000473:pathology*