Functional Connectivity of Nucleus Accumbens Is Associated with Lifelong Premature Ejaculation in Male Adults A Resting-state fMRI Study
Functional Connectivity of Nucleus Accumbens Is Associated with Lifelong Premature Ejaculation in Male Adults A Resting-state fMRI Study
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DOI：
10.1007/s00062-021-01105-2
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发表时间：
2021-10-29
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
Liu, Peng
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Geng, Bowen;Gao, Ming;Liu, Peng
射精是男性性行为的一个重要组成部分，它涉及大脑某些区域的奖励功能，包括伏隔核（NAcc）。终身早泄（PE）是男性最常见的性功能障碍之一。这可能与大脑功能异常有关。本研究旨在探讨终身PE患者NAcc功能连接模式的变化，以及神经影像学异常与临床特征的可能相关性。方法选取42例终身PE患者和30例健康对照。所有参与者都接受了功能性磁共振成像扫描和临床症状。应用功能连通性（FC）方法研究两组之间nacc种子内在连通性的差异，并使用相关性分析来获取成像结果与临床特征（如早泄诊断工具（PEDT）或阴道内射精潜伏期（IELT））之间可能的关系。结果结果显示，终身PE患者NAcc与丘脑、颞上极、颞上皮层、额下回、眶额皮质、尾状核和壳核之间的FC降低。终身PE患者PEDT评分与NAcc-STC连通性呈显著负相关（r = -0.46），而雅思评分与NAcc-IFG连通性（r = 0.48）和nacc -丘脑连通性（r = 0.46）呈正相关。结论本研究结果可能有助于对终身PE的神经机制，特别是与静息状态下nacc相关的内在连接的更复杂的理解。
Purpose Ejaculation represents a crucial component of sexual behavior in men, which is involved in reward functions of certain brain areas including the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). Lifelong premature ejaculation (PE) is one of the most prevalent sexual dysfunctions in men. It is suggested to be related to abnormal brain function. This study aimed to explore changes of the functional connectivity patterns of NAcc and possible correlations of the neuroimaging abnormalities with clinical features in lifelong PE patients. Methods The sample consisted with 42 lifelong PE patients and 30 healthy controls. All participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scans and clinical symptoms. The functional connectivity (FC) approach was applied to investigate differences of NAcc-seed intrinsic connectivity between two groups and correlation analysis was used to access possible relationships between the imaging findings and clinical features, such as premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT) or intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT). Results Results showed that lifelong PE patients had decreased FC between the NAcc and thalamus, superior temporal pole, superior temporal cortex (STC), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), orbitofrontal cortex, caudate and putamen. A significantly negative correlation between the PEDT score and NAcc-STC connectivity (r = -0.46) was found in lifelong PE patients, while IELT score positively correlated with the NAcc-IFG connectivity (r = 0.48) and NAcc-thalamus connectivity (r = 0.46). Conclusion The findings may facilitate a more sophisticated understanding of neural mechanisms of lifelong PE, particularly associated with the NAcc-related intrinsic connectivity during the resting state.