Meta-analysis of structural and functional abnormalities in behavioral addictions.

BACKGROUND

The incidence of behavioral addictions (BAs) associated with scientific and technological advances has been increasing steadily. Unfortunately, a large number of studies on the structural and functional abnormalities have shown poor reproducibility, and it remains unclear whether different addictive behaviors share common underlying abnormalities. Therefore, our objective was to conduct a quantitative meta-analysis of different behavioral addictions to provide evidence-based evidence of common structural and functional changes.

METHODS

We conducted systematic searches in PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus from January 2010 to December 2023, supplementing reference lists of high-quality relevant meta-analyses and reviews, to identify eligible voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. Using anisotropic seed-based D-Mapping (AES-SDM) meta-analysis methods, we compared brain abnormalities between BAs and healthy controls (HCs).

RESULTS

There were 11 GMV studies (287 BAs and 292 HCs) and 26 fMRI studies (577 BAs and 545 HCs) that met inclusion criteria. Compared with HCs, BAs demonstrated significant reductions in gray matter volume (GMV) in (1) right anterior cingulate gyri extending into the adjacent superior frontal gyrus, as well as in the left inferior frontal gyrus and right striatum. (2) the bilateral precuneus, right supramarginal gyrus, and right fusiform gyrus were hyperfunction; (3) the left medial cingulate gyrus extended to the superior frontal gyrus, the left inferior frontal gyrus, and right middle temporal gyrus had hypofunction.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study identified structural and functional impairments in brain regions involved in executive control, cognitive function, visual memory, and reward-driven behavior in BAs. Notably, fronto-cingulate regions may serve as common biomarkers of BAs.