Abstract
Background and AimsAddiction is associated with severe economic and social consequences and personal tragedies, the scientific exploration of which draws upon investigations at the molecular, cellular and systems levels with a wide variety of technologies. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been key to mapping effects observed at the microscopic and mesoscopic scales. The range of measurements from this apparatus has opened new avenues linking neurobiology to behaviour. This review considers the role of MRI in addiction research, and what future technological improvements might offer.MethodsA hermeneutic strategy supplemented by an expansive, systematic search of PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science databases, covering from database inception to October 2015, with a conjunction of search terms relevant to addiction and MRI. Formal meta‐analyses were prioritized.ResultsResults from methods that probe brain structure and function suggest frontostriatal circuitry disturbances within specific cognitive domains, some of which predict drug relapse and treatment response. New methods of processing imaging data are opening opportunities for understanding the role of cerebral vasculature, a global view of brain communication and the complex topology of the cortical surface and drug action. Future technological advances include increases in MRI field strength, with concomitant improvements in image quality.ConclusionsThe magnetic resonance imaging literature provides a limited but convergent picture of the neurobiology of addiction as global changes to brain structure and functional disturbances to frontostriatal circuitry, accompanied by changes in anterior white matter.
Highlights
Without doubt, the technology to image the structure and function of the brain non-invasively has transformed our understanding of neurological and psychiatric disorders, arguably setting them on a convergent course
Modern neuroimaging encompasses a large range of techniques based on a variety of physical phenomena
The contribution of radioisotope imaging has been highly significant in the discovery and mapping of the role of dopamine in addiction [8], magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the mainstay of Addiction, 112, 360–369
Summary
The technology to image the structure and function of the brain non-invasively (referred to collectively as neuroimaging) has transformed our understanding of neurological and psychiatric disorders, arguably setting them on a convergent course. Measuring and understanding the consequences of the chronic consumption of alcohol by radiological examination has been of interest since at least the 1950s, with generalized atrophy of the brain depicted by pneumoencephalography [6,7]. The contribution of radioisotope imaging has been highly significant in the discovery and mapping of the role of dopamine in addiction [8], magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the mainstay of Addiction, 112, 360–369. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been key to mapping effects observed at the microscopic and mesoscopic scales. This review considers the role of MRI in addiction research, and what future technological improvements might offer.
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