title: Reduced frontal cortical thickness and increased caudate volume within fronto-striatal circuits in young adult smokers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Smoking during early adulthood results in neurophysiological and brain structural changes that may promote nicotine dependence later in life. Previous studies have revealed the important roles of fronto-striatal circuits in the pathology of nicotine dependence; however, few studies have focused on both cortical thickness and subcortical striatal volume differences between young adult smokers and nonsmokers.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-seven young male adult smokers and 22 age-, education- and gender-matched nonsmokers were recruited in the present study. The cortical thickness and striatal volume differences of young adult smokers and age-matched nonsmokers were investigated in the present study and then correlated with pack-years and Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The following results were obtained: (1) young adult smokers showed significant cortical thinning in the frontal cortex (left caudal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), right lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC)), left insula, left middle temporal gyrus, right inferior parietal lobule, and right parahippocampus; (2) in regards to subcortical striatal volume, the volume of the right caudate was larger in young adult smokers than nonsmokers; and (3) the cortical thickness of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and OFC were associated with nicotine dependence severity (FTND) and cumulative amount of nicotine intake (pack-years) in smokers, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study revealed reduced frontal cortical thickness and increased caudate volume in the fronto-striatal circuits in young adult smokers compared to nonsmokers. These deficits suggest an imbalance between cognitive control (reduced protection factors) and reward drive behaviours (increased risk factors) associated with nicotine addiction and relapse.
authors: School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, Shaanxi, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, PR China.
authors: Yangding
authors: Y
authors: Li
authors: School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, Shaanxi, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, PR China. Electronic address: yuankai@life.xidian.edu.cn.
authors: Kai
authors: K
authors: Yuan
authors: School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, Shaanxi, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, PR China.
authors: Chenxi
authors: C
authors: Cai
authors: School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, Shaanxi, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, PR China.
authors: Dan
authors: D
authors: Feng
authors: School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, Shaanxi, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, PR China.
authors: Junsen
authors: J
authors: Yin
authors: School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, Shaanxi, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, PR China.
authors: Yanzhi
authors: Y
authors: Bi
authors: School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, Shaanxi, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, PR China.
authors: Sha
authors: S
authors: Shi
authors: Information Processing Laboratory, School of Information Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, Baotou, Inner Mongolia 014010, PR China.
authors: Dahua
authors: D
authors: Yu
authors: Department of Medical Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, Shaanxi, PR China.
authors: Chenwang
authors: C
authors: Jin
authors: School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, Shaanxi, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, PR China.
authors: Karen M
authors: KM
authors: von Deneen
authors: School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, Shaanxi, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, PR China.
authors: Wei
authors: W
authors: Qin
authors: School of Life Science and Technology, Xidian University, Xi'an 710071, Shaanxi, PR China; Engineering Research Center of Molecular and Neuro Imaging, Ministry of Education, Xi'an, PR China; Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China. Electronic address: tian@ieee.org.
authors: Jie
authors: J
authors: Tian
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002421:Caudate Nucleus / Q000473:pathology*; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000473:pathology*; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D017072:Neostriatum / Q000473:pathology*; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000473:pathology*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D012907:Smoking / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cortical thickness; Frontal cortex; Striatal volume; Young adult smokers