Altered subcallosal and posterior cingulate cortex-based functional connectivity during smoking cue and mental simulation processing in smokers

Joyful growth vs. compulsive hedonism: A meta-analysis of brain activation on romantic love and addictive disorders

Due to the similarities in behavioral characteristics between romantic love and addictive disorders, the concept of being "addicted to someone" transcends mere literary metaphor, expanding perspectives on the study of romantic love and inspiring interventions for addiction. However, there has been a lack of studies systematically exploring the similarities and differences between romantic love and addiction at the neural level. In this study, we conducted an extensive literature search, incorporating 21 studies on romantic love and 28 on addictive disorders, focusing on fMRI research utilizing the cue reactivity paradigm. Using Activation Likelihood Estimation, we examined the similarities and differences in the neural mechanisms underlying love and addiction. The results showed that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) exhibited both shared and distinct activation clusters between romantic love and addictive disorders. Furthermore, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) was more frequently activated in romantic love than in addictive disorders, while greater activation within the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) was found in addictive disorder compared with romantic love. We discussed that the activation of ACC and VMPFC may symbolize self-expansion, a process that characterizes the development of romantic love, contributing to a more enriched self. Our study suggests that while romantic love and addictive disorders share a common neural foundation, the discernible differences in their neural representations distinguish them as joyful growth versus compulsive hedonism.

Cue-reactivity targeted smoking cessation intervention in individuals with tobacco use disorder: a scoping review

Objectives

Cue-reactivity is a critical step leading to the emergence of addictive psychology and the triggering of addictive behaviors within the framework of addiction theory and is considered a significant risk factor for addiction-related behaviors. However, the effect of cue-reactivity targeted smoking cessation intervention and the cue-reactivity paradigms used in the randomized controlled trials varies, which introduces more heterogeneity and makes a side-by-side comparison of cessation responses difficult. Therefore, the scoping review aims to integrate existing research and identify evidence gaps.

Methods

We searched databases in English (PubMed and Embase) and Chinese (CNKI and Wanfang) using terms synonymous with 'cue' and 'tobacco use disorder (TUD)' to April 2023, and via hand-searching and reference screening of included studies. Studies were included if they were randomized controlled trials taking cue-reactivity as an indicator for tobacco use disorder (TUD) defined by different kinds of criteria.

Results

Data were extracted on each study's country, population, methods, timeframes, outcomes, cue-reactivity paradigms, and so on. Of the 2,944 literature were retrieved, 201 studies met the criteria and were selected for full-text screening. Finally, 67 pieces of literature were selected for inclusion and data extraction. The results mainly revealed that non-invasive brain stimulation and exercise therapy showed a trend of greater possibility in reducing subjective craving compared to the remaining therapies, despite variations in the number of research studies conducted in each category. And cue-reactivity paradigms vary in materials and mainly fall into two main categories: behaviorally induced craving paradigm or visually induced craving paradigm.

Conclusion

The current studies are still inadequate in terms of comparability due to their heterogeneity, cue-reactivity can be conducted in the future by constructing a standard library of smoking cue materials. Causal analysis is suggested in order to adequately screen for causes of addiction persistence, and further explore the specific objective cue-reactivity-related indicators of TUD.

Altered modular segregation of brain networks during the cue-craving task contributes to the disrupted executive functions in internet gaming disorder

BACKGROUND

Previous studies have shown that gaming-related cues could induce gaming cravings and bring about changes in brain activities in subjects with Internet gaming disorder (IGD). However, little is known about the brain network organizations in IGD subjects during a cue-craving task and the relationship between this network organization and IGD severity.

METHODS

Sixty-one IGD subjects and 61 matched recreational game users (RGUs) were scanned while performing a cue-craving task. We calculated and compared the participation coefficient (PC) among brain network modules between IGD subjects and RGUs. Based on the results, further group comparison analyses were performed to explain the PC changes and to explore the relationship between PCs and IGD severity.

RESULTS

While performing a cue-craving task, compared with RGUs, IGD subjects showed significantly decreased PCs in the default-mode network (DMN) and the frontal-parietal network (FPN). Specifically, the number of connections between nodes in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex and other nodes in the DMN of IGD subjects was much larger than that in RGUs. Correlation results showed that the number of DMN intra-modular connections was positively correlated with addiction severity and craving degree.

CONCLUSIONS

These results provide neural evidence that can explain why cognitive control, emotion, attention and other functions are impaired in IGD subjects in the face of gaming cues, which leads to compulsive behavior toward games. These findings extend our understanding of the neural mechanism of IGD and have important implications for developing effective interventions to treat IGD subjects.