Meta-analysis of structural and functional abnormalities in behavioral addictions

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Addiction Research
• Brain Imaging

Background:

• Behavioral addictions (BAs) are increasing with technological advances.
• Reproducibility issues plague studies on structural and functional brain abnormalities in BAs.
• Common underlying brain abnormalities across different BAs remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a quantitative meta-analysis of brain abnormalities in various behavioral addictions.
• To provide evidence-based insights into common structural and functional changes in BAs.
• To identify potential common biomarkers for behavioral addictions.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature searches in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus (Jan 2010-Dec 2023).
• Inclusion of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies.
• Application of anisotropic seed-based D-Mapping (AES-SDM) for meta-analysis comparing BAs and healthy controls (HCs).

Main Results:

• 11 gray matter volume (GMV) studies (287 BAs, 292 HCs) and 26 fMRI studies (577 BAs, 545 HCs) were analyzed.
• BAs showed reduced GMV in the right anterior cingulate, left inferior frontal gyrus, and right striatum compared to HCs.
• Functional alterations included hyperfunction in bilateral precuneus and hypofunction in left medial cingulate regions.

Conclusions:

• Structural and functional brain impairments identified in BAs affect executive control, cognitive function, and reward processing.
• Fronto-cingulate regions demonstrate structural and functional alterations, suggesting they may be common biomarkers for BAs.
• This meta-analysis provides evidence for shared neural underpinnings across diverse behavioral addictions.