Interaction between Dysfunctional Connectivity at Rest and Heroin Cues-Induced Brain Responses in Male Abstinent Heroin-Dependent Individuals

Jixin Liu,Yijun Liu,Wei Wang,Qiang Li,Wei Qin,Jinbo Sun,Jing Li,Karen M Von Deneen,Yarong Wang,Jie Tian,Kai Yuan,Wang Zhan

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0023098

Abstract

BackgroundThe majority of previous heroin cue-reactivity functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies focused on local function impairments, such as inhibitory control, decision-making and stress regulation. Our previous studies have demonstrated that these brain circuits also presented dysfunctional connectivity during the resting state. Yet few studies considered the relevance of resting state dysfunctional connectivity to task-related neural activity in the same chronic heroin user (CHU).Methodology/Principal FindingsWe employed the method of graph theory analysis, which detected the abnormality of brain regions and dysregulation of brain connections at rest between 16 male abstinent chronic heroin users (CHUs) and 16 non-drug users (NDUs). Using a cue-reactivity task, we assessed the relationship between drug-related cue-induced craving activity and the abnormal topological properties of the CHUs' resting networks. Comparing NDUs' brain activity to that of CHUs, the intensity of functional connectivity of the medial frontal gyrus (meFG) in patients' resting state networks was prominently greater and positively correlated with the same region's neural activity in the heroin-related task; decreased functional connectivity intensity of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in CHUs at rest was associated with more drug-related cue-induced craving activities.ConclusionsThese results may indicate that there exist two brain systems interacting simultaneously in the heroin-addicted brain with regards to a cue-reactivity task. The current study may shed further light on the neural architecture that supports craving responses in heroin dependence.

Highlights

Heroin addiction is a complex disease of the brain, involving both affective and cognitive processes, characterized by a compulsive drive to take drugs despite serious negative consequences [1]
The impaired response inhibition function and decision-making function were found in heroin-dependent patients, which were marked by abnormal activation of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in certain tasks [2,3,4,5]
While functional abnormality has been reported in resting state networks and cue-induced tasks in heroin-dependent individuals, the first aim of this study was to examine the direct relationship between abnormal resting functional connectivity and the brain response to heroin cue reactivity

Summary

Introduction

Heroin addiction is a complex disease of the brain, involving both affective and cognitive processes, characterized by a compulsive drive to take drugs despite serious negative consequences [1]. The impaired response inhibition function and decision-making function were found in heroin-dependent patients, which were marked by abnormal activation of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in certain tasks [2,3,4,5]. We found dysregulated functional connectivity of the ACC and PFC in the CHUs’ resting networks [5,6,8] Based on these inherent features, whether or not the relevance of resting state dysfunctional connectivity is related to specific heroin cue reactivity in heroin dependent patients is still unclear. Few studies considered the relevance of resting state dysfunctional connectivity to task-related neural activity in the same chronic heroin user (CHU)

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