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Neural Correlates of Early-Life Urbanization and Their Spatial Relationships with Gene Expression, Neurotransmitter, and Behavioral Domain Atlases

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Abstract

Previous neuroimaging research has established associations between urban exposure during early life and alterations in brain function and structure. However, the molecular mechanisms and behavioral relevance of these associations remain largely unknown. Here, we aimed to address this question using a combined analysis of multimodal data. Initially, we calculated amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and gray matter volume (GMV) using resting-state functional and structural MRI to investigate their associations with early-life urbanization in a large sample of 511 healthy young adults. Then, we examined the spatial relationships of the identified neural correlates of early-life urbanization with gene expression, neurotransmitter, and behavioral domain atlases. Results showed that higher early-life urbanization scores were correlated with increased ALFF of the right fusiform gyrus and decreased GMV of the left dorsal medial prefrontal cortex and left precuneus. Remarkably, the identified neural correlates of early-life urbanization were spatially correlated with expression of gene categories primarily involving immune system process, signal transduction, and cellular metabolic process. Concurrently, there were significant associations between the neural correlates and specific neurotransmitter systems including dopamine, acetylcholine, and serotonin. Finally, we found that the ALFF correlates were associated with behavioral terms including “perception,” “sensory,” “cognitive control,” and “reasoning.” Apart from expanding existing knowledge of early-life urban environmental risk for mental disorders and health in general, our findings may contribute to an emerging framework for integrating social science, neuroscience, genetics, and public policy to respond to the major health challenge of world urbanization.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are not publicly available due to ethical requirements regarding pertinent clinical data but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Allen Institute for Brain Science founders and staff who supplied the brain expression data.

Funding

This work was supported by the Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation (grant numbers: 2308085MH277 and 2208085MH257), the Outstanding Youth Support Project of Anhui Province Universities (grant number: gxyqZD2022026), the Scientific Research Key Project of Anhui Province Universities (grant number: 2022AH051135), and the Scientific Research Foundation of Anhui Medical University (grant number: 2022xkj143).

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  1. Weisheng Huang and Xuetian Sun contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, 230022, China

    Weisheng Huang, Xuetian Sun, Xiaohan Zhang, Ruoxuan Xu, Yinfeng Qian & Jiajia Zhu

  2. Research Center of Clinical Medical Imaging, Anhui Province, Hefei, 230032, China

    Weisheng Huang, Xuetian Sun, Xiaohan Zhang, Ruoxuan Xu, Yinfeng Qian & Jiajia Zhu

  3. Anhui Provincial Institute of Translational Medicine, Hefei, 230032, China

    Weisheng Huang, Xuetian Sun, Xiaohan Zhang, Ruoxuan Xu, Yinfeng Qian & Jiajia Zhu

  4. Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory for Brain Bank Construction and Resource Utilization, Hefei, 230032, China

    Weisheng Huang, Xuetian Sun, Xiaohan Zhang, Ruoxuan Xu, Yinfeng Qian & Jiajia Zhu

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Contributions

Jiajia Zhu was involved in the conception and design of the study, the acquisition and analysis of data, drafting, and preparation of the manuscript. Yinfeng Qian was involved in the conception and design of the study and the acquisition and analysis of data. Weisheng Huang was involved in the conception and design of the study, the acquisition and analysis of data, and drafting the manuscript. Xuetian Sun, Xiaohan Zhang, and Ruoxuan Xu were involved in the acquisition and analysis of data. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

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Correspondence to Yinfeng Qian or Jiajia Zhu.

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Huang, W., Sun, X., Zhang, X. et al. Neural Correlates of Early-Life Urbanization and Their Spatial Relationships with Gene Expression, Neurotransmitter, and Behavioral Domain Atlases. Mol Neurobiol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-024-03962-7

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