Common neurofunctional dysregulations characterize obsessive–compulsive, substance use, and gaming disorders—An activation likelihood meta‐analysis of functional imaging studies

Abstract

Compulsivity and loss of behavioral control represent core symptoms in obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), substance use disorder (SUD), and internet gaming disorder (IGD). Despite elaborated animal models suggesting that compulsivity is mediated by cortico‐striatal circuits and a growing number of neuroimaging case–control studies, common neurofunctional alterations in these disorders have not been systematically examined. The present activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta‐analysis capitalized on previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies to determine shared neurofunctional alterations among the three disorders. Task‐based fMRI studies of individuals with SUD, OCD, or IGD were obtained. ALE was performed within each disorder. Next, contrast and conjunction meta‐analyses were performed to determine differential and common alterations. Task‐paradigm classes were group according to Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) domains to determine contributions of underlying behavioral domains. One hundred forty‐four articles were included representing data from n = 6897 individuals (SUD = 2418, controls = 2332; IGD = 361, controls = 360; OCD = 715, controls = 711) from case–control studies. Conjunction meta‐analyses revealed shared alterations in the anterior insular cortex between OCD and SUDs. SUD exhibited additionally pronounced dorsal‐striatal alterations compared with both, OCD and IGD. IGD shared frontal, particularly cingulate alterations with all SUDs, while IGD demonstrated pronounced temporal alterations compared with both, SUD and OCD. No robust overlap between IGD and OCD was observed. Across the disorders, neurofunctional alterations were mainly contributed by cognitive systems and positive valence RDoC domains. The present findings indicate that neurofunctional dysregulations in prefrontal regions engaged in regulatory‐control represent shared neurofunctional alterations across substance and behavioral addictions, while shared neurofunctional dysregulations in the anterior insula may mediate compulsivity in substance addiction and OCD.