Introduction: Cigarette smoking is known to modulate brain metabolism and brain function. How the dynamics of these metabolic alterations influence the active performance of higher order cognitive tasks in smokers, compared to non-smokers, is still unclear. The present exploratory study sought to examine the impact of smoking on the “complete” metabolic profile while the participants performed a working memory (N-back) task. Methods: The study sample consisted of 40 young male healthy participants (smokers [n = 20] and non-smokers [n = 20]). Functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy data were acquired using a 3 T whole-body MR system. Data analysis was performed using Java-based Magnetic Resonance User Interface software, and metabolite ratios with respect to creatine (Cr) were calculated. Results: On a behavioural level, smokers showed worse performance (measured by d’) than non-smokers. However, we observed significant differences in the metabolite concentrations in smokers compared to non-smokers, which also changed over the course of the N-back task. A significant effect of the group was observed with smokers showing lower glutamate/Cr (Glx/Cr) and choline/Cr (Cho/Cr) ratios than non-smokers. Further, N-acetyl aspartate (NAA/Cr) and Cho/Cr ratios were significantly different during the rest and the task conditions. In addition, our results demonstrated the metabolite interactions (NAA and Cho, Glx and myo-inositol [mI], and Cho and mI). Conclusion: Further studies are necessary to shed more light on the association between smoking behaviours and metabolic alterations. However, our preliminary findings would assist in this future research to have a complete understanding of the metabolite interactions not only in smoking but also in addiction research.
Eur Addict Res

中文翻译：

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年轻吸烟者工作记忆任务期间前额叶皮层的代谢动力学

简介：众所周知，吸烟可以调节大脑新陈代谢和大脑功能。与非吸烟者相比，这些代谢变化的动态如何影响吸烟者高阶认知任务的积极表现，目前尚不清楚。本探索性研究试图检查吸烟对“完整”代谢特征的影响，同时参与者执行工作记忆（N-back）任务。方法：研究样本由 40 名年轻男性健康参与者（吸烟者 [ n = 20] 和非吸烟者 [ n= 20]）。使用 3 T 全身 MR 系统获取功能磁共振波谱数据。使用基于 Java 的磁共振用户界面软件进行数据分析，并计算出相对于肌酸 (Cr) 的代谢物比率。结果：在行为层面上，吸烟者表现出比非吸烟者更差的表现（以 d' 衡量）。然而，我们观察到吸烟者与非吸烟者的代谢物浓度存在显着差异，这在 N-back 任务过程中也发生了变化。与非吸烟者相比，吸烟者的谷氨酸盐/铬 (Glx/Cr) 和胆碱/铬 (Cho/Cr) 比率较低，观察到该组的显着影响。此外，在休息和任务条件下，N-乙酰天冬氨酸 (NAA/Cr) 和 Cho/Cr 比率显着不同。此外，我们的结果证明了代谢物相互作用（NAA 和 Cho、Glx 和肌醇 [mI]，以及 Cho 和 mI）。结论：需要进一步研究以进一步阐明吸烟行为与代谢改变之间的关联。然而，我们的初步发现将有助于未来的研究，以全面了解不仅在吸烟中而且在成瘾研究中的代谢物相互作用。
欧洲瘾君子研究