Abnormal neural activity in male chronic smokers revealed by resting-state functional MRI

We combined two methods of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to explore the abnormal neural activity in male chronic smokers. The amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (ALFF) was first calculated and brain regions with significant differences in ALFF between two groups were used as seeds for further resting-state functional connectivity (rs-FC) analysis. Our findings revealed increased spontaneous regional activity in the superior frontal gyrus (SFG) with reduced functional connectivity to visual attention areas and cerebellar subregions in smokers compared with controls, which may play an important role in the pathophysiology of smoking.