title: Altered spontaneous activity of posterior cingulate cortex and superior temporal gyrus are associated with a smoking cessation treatment outcome using varenicline revealed by regional homogeneity.
abstract: Compared to nonsmokers, smokers exhibit a number of potentially important differences in regional brain function. However, little is known about the associations between the local spontaneous brain activity and smoking cessation treatment outcomes. In the present analysis, we aimed to evaluate whether the local features of spontaneous brain activity prior to the target quit date was associated with the smoking cessation outcomes. All the participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging scans and smoking-related behavioral assessments. After a 12-week treatment with varenicline, 23 smokers succeeded in quitting smoking and 32 failed. Smokers underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning prior to an open label smoking cessation treatment trial. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) was used to measure spontaneous brain activity, and whole-brain voxel-wise comparisons of ReHo were performed to detect brain regions with altered spontaneous brain activity between relapser and quitter groups. After controlling for potentially confounding factors including years of education, years smoked, cigarettes smoked per day and FTND score as covariates, compared to quitters, relapsers displayed significantly decreased ReHo in bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), as well as increased ReHo in left superior temporal gyrus (STG). These preliminary results suggest that regional brain function variables may be promising predictors of smoking relapse. This study provided novel insights into the neurobiological mechanisms underlying smoking relapse. A deeper understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms associated with relapse may result in novel pharmacological and behavioral interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, NO.88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, 310009, China.
authors.forename: Chao
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, NO.88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, 310009, China.
authors.forename: Zhujing
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, NO.88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, 310009, China.
authors.forename: Peiyu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, NO.88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, 310009, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, NO.88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, 310009, China.
authors.forename: Xinfeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, NO.88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, 310009, China.
authors.forename: Jianzhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Hualiang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Neuroimaging Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA.
authors.forename: Yihong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, NO.88 Jiefang Road, Hangzhou, 310009, China. zhangminming@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Minming
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0145-7558
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D000068580:Varenicline / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D000068580:Varenicline
keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging; Regional homogeneity; Smoking; Smoking cessation; Varenicline