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Nicotine effects on default mode network during resting state.

Jody Tanabe, Eric Nyberg, Laura F Martin, Jesse Martin, Dietmar Cordes, Eugene Kronberg, Jason R Tregellas

Psychopharmacology July 2011 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-011-2221-8 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Within-subject, single-blinded, counterbalanced study Peer reviewed
Sample size 19
Population Non-smoking subjects
Intervention Nicotine
Dose 7 mg
Topics Default mode network
Key points Nicotine decreased activity in DMN regions and increased activity in extra-striate regions during resting-state fMRI, suggesting a shift from internal to external processing networks that may underlie its cognitive effects.

Abstract

The default mode network (DMN), one of several resting-state networks (RSN) in the brain, is thought to be involved in self-referential thought, awareness, and episodic memories. Nicotine improves cognitive performance, in part by improving attention. Nicotinic agonists have been shown to decrease activity in regions within DMN and increase activity in regions involved in visual attention during effortful processing of external stimuli. It is unknown if these pharmacological effects also occur in the absence of effortful processing. This study aims to determine if nicotine suppresses activity in default mode and enhances activity in extra-striate RSNs in the absence of an external visual task. Within-subject, single-blinded, counterbalanced study of 19 non-smoking subjects who had resting functional MRI scans after 7 mg nicotine or placebo patch. Group independent component analysis was performed. The DMN component was identified by spatial correlation with a reference DMN mask. A visual attention component was identified by spatial correlation with an extra-striate mask. Analyses were conducted using statistical parametric mapping. Nicotine was associated with decreased activity in regions within the DMN and increased activity in extra-striate regions. Suppression of DMN and enhancement of extra-striate resting-state activity in the absence of visual stimuli or effortful processing suggest that nicotine's cognitive effects may involve a shift in activity from networks that process internal to those that process external information. This is a potential mechanism by which cholinergic agonists may have a beneficial effect in diseases associated with altered resting-state activity.

Comparable studies

Other randomized controlled trials on default mode network, most cited first.

Study Year Design Participants
Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin Healthy volunteers 2012 Within-subjects, placebo-controlled, task-free fMRI study n = 30
The effects of psilocybin and MDMA on between-network resting state functional connectivity in healthy volunteers 2014 Placebo-controlled study
Ketamine Decreases Resting State Functional Network Connectivity in Healthy Subjects: Implications for Antidepressant Drug Action Healthy subjects 2012 Randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover rsfMRI challenge
Antidepressants Normalize the Default Mode Network in Patients With Dysthymia Subjects with dysthymic disorder and healthy control participants aged 18 to 53 years 2013 Randomized controlled trial n = 41
Functional Connectivity Measures After Psilocybin Inform a Novel Hypothesis of Early Psychosis Healthy volunteers 2012 Within-subject, placebo-controlled experimental study n = 15

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