Application of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation to heroin abuser: a resting state fMRI study

Abstract

Objective To study the changes of amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) of the resting state fMRI in heroin abuser (HD), and discussed its underlying neurophysiological mechanism.Methods The resting state fMRI data of 15 heroin abusers and 15 normal volunteers were analyzed by ALFF.The amplitude of the blood oxygenation level dependent activation of the resting state brain was investigated.The brain structures showing increased and decreased ALFF in TLE patients were demonstrated by comparing to normal subjects with 2-sample t -test with threshold of P＜0.05.Results Compared with normal subjects,the regions showing decreased ALFF in HD patients were distributed in right temporal lobe(45, - 30, -21 ) ,left hippocampus( - 36,- 33, - 6), right thalamus ( 24, - 12,27 ), left posterior cingulum gyrus ( - 15, - 54,24 ), right parietal lobe /precuneus ( 21, - 51,36 ), right inferior parietal lobule ( 21, - 48,78 ) and dorsal lateral aspect of the right frontal lobe(21, - 48,78) ,while ALLF of left(45, - 42,63 ) lateral frontal cortex(0 ,39,72) in HD patients was significantly higher.Conclusion HD shows abnormal brain functional organization in resting state, which may play an important role in the production, maintenance and relapse after withdrawal of heroin abuse. Key words: Heroin abuse; Resting state fMRI; ALFF