The Phase‐Amplitude Coupling Changes Induced by Smoking Cue After 12‐H Abstinence in Young Smokers

TL;DR

This study shows how brain activity changes in young smokers when exposed to smoking cues after 12 hours of not smoking, linking these changes to cravings.

Contribution

The study is the first to show PAC abnormalities in young smokers under short-term abstinence linked to craving and inhibitory control.

Findings

Smoking-related cues reduced PAC and connectivity in the right prefrontal cortex.

Parietal cortex showed increased PAC and enhanced connectivity with smoking cues.

PAC values were significantly correlated with craving levels in young smokers.

Abstract

Tobacco use causes more than 8 million deaths globally each year, and the number of younger smokers is growing. It is of great practical importance to explore the underlying neural mechanisms behind the behaviour of young smokers. During cue‐induced craving, reward system in the brain generates neural oscillations at specific frequencies. The phase–amplitude coupling (PAC) can capture interactions between these frequencies and may be a more sensitive quantitative indicator for characterizing abnormal neural oscillations in smokers. We monitored the electroencephalography (EEG) data of 30 young smokers during a cue task after 12 h of abstinence, dividing the data into the neutral and smoking‐related groups based on different experimental stimuli to analyse the relationship between PAC and craving. In addition, we computed the functional connectivity (FC) under the PAC mechanism. The results showed that the young smokers exposed to smoking‐related cues under short‐term abstinence conditions had significantly lower PAC values and reduced FC strength in the right prefrontal cortex. In contrast, there was a significant increase in PAC values in the parietal cortex and enhanced FC strength. The correlation analysis showed significant correlations between PAC values and craving. These findings demonstrate for the first time that PAC abnormalities in young smokers exposed to smoking‐related cues under short‐term abstinence conditions may be related to craving and inhibitory control.

Whole‐brain PAC and functional connectivity analyses in smoking quitters using the Cue‐Task revealed that smoking‐related stimuli decreased prefrontal PAC and connectivity, while increasing PAC and enhancing connectivity in the posterior parietal cortex. PAC may be a sensitive indicator of craving representations.

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