{"title":"Impaired neural activity and functional connectivity in the hippocampus of adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury addiction.","authors":"Xinbei Lin, Yongbing Sun, Yan Hu, Yangyang Chen, Yuang Gu, Keke Chen, Zhi Zou, Zhonglin Li, Xiaoling Wu, Tao Li, Xue Lv, Fengshan Yan, Shewei Dou, Zhiping Guo, Shuying Chang, Yongli Li","doi":"10.1186/s12888-025-07331-z","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) addiction is prevalent among adolescents, but its underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to investigate the neural activity and functional connectivity characteristics associated with NSSI addiction using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A prospective collection of 62 adolescents was completed for this study, including 33 adolescents with self-injury behaviors and 29 age-, gender-, and education-matched healthy controls. The addiction component of the Ottawa Self-Injury Inventory (OSI) was used to assess the degree of NSSI addiction. Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) analysis was employed to detect changes in local neural activity. Differential brain regions were considered regions of interests (ROIs). Whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) analysis based on ALFF was used to further explore potential changes in functional connections between ROIs and other brain areas in the NSSI group, and to analyze the relationship between these neural changes and addiction characteristics.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>ALFF analysis revealed decreased ALFF values in the bilateral hippocampus and increased ALFF values in the right supplementary motor area of NSSI adolescents compared to healthy controls. Significantly reduced FC values was observed between the left hippocampus and the left precuneus, right middle temporal gyrus, and right inferior temporal gyrus, and between the right hippocampus and the right middle temporal gyrus. Additionally, increased FC values was observed between the left hippocampus and the left thalamus. Furthermore, ALFF values in the bilateral hippocampus were negatively correlated with the total score of addiction characteristics in NSSI adolescents.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study highlights reduced local neural activity and functional connectivity in the bilateral hippocampus of NSSI adolescents, and demonstrates that these alterations are associated with heightened addictive features in self-injuring individuals.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>A study of positive psychological group interventions in adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury (registration date: 03/01/2024; registration number: ChiCTR2400079412).</p>","PeriodicalId":9029,"journal":{"name":"BMC Psychiatry","volume":"25 1","pages":"895"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12486709/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"BMC Psychiatry","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-07331-z","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"PSYCHIATRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
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Abstract
Background: Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) addiction is prevalent among adolescents, but its underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to investigate the neural activity and functional connectivity characteristics associated with NSSI addiction using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI).
Methods: A prospective collection of 62 adolescents was completed for this study, including 33 adolescents with self-injury behaviors and 29 age-, gender-, and education-matched healthy controls. The addiction component of the Ottawa Self-Injury Inventory (OSI) was used to assess the degree of NSSI addiction. Amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) analysis was employed to detect changes in local neural activity. Differential brain regions were considered regions of interests (ROIs). Whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) analysis based on ALFF was used to further explore potential changes in functional connections between ROIs and other brain areas in the NSSI group, and to analyze the relationship between these neural changes and addiction characteristics.
Results: ALFF analysis revealed decreased ALFF values in the bilateral hippocampus and increased ALFF values in the right supplementary motor area of NSSI adolescents compared to healthy controls. Significantly reduced FC values was observed between the left hippocampus and the left precuneus, right middle temporal gyrus, and right inferior temporal gyrus, and between the right hippocampus and the right middle temporal gyrus. Additionally, increased FC values was observed between the left hippocampus and the left thalamus. Furthermore, ALFF values in the bilateral hippocampus were negatively correlated with the total score of addiction characteristics in NSSI adolescents.
Conclusions: This study highlights reduced local neural activity and functional connectivity in the bilateral hippocampus of NSSI adolescents, and demonstrates that these alterations are associated with heightened addictive features in self-injuring individuals.
Trial registration: A study of positive psychological group interventions in adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury (registration date: 03/01/2024; registration number: ChiCTR2400079412).
期刊介绍：
BMC Psychiatry is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that considers articles on all aspects of the prevention, diagnosis and management of psychiatric disorders, as well as related molecular genetics, pathophysiology, and epidemiology.
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