문제적 과잉 성 행동은 성 충동과 각성을 통제하지 못하는 것과 관련이 있으며, 억제 기능을 담당하는 뇌 영역의 구조적, 기능적 변화와 관련이 있음이 밝혀졌다. 그러나 아직까지 문제적 과잉 성 행동의 휴지기 상태 시 뇌의 기능적 연결성에 관한 연구는 거의 없다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 자기공명영상장치를 사용하여 휴지기 상태 시 문제적 과잉 성 행동자의 집행 통제 회로(RECN, LECN)의 기능적 연결성의 결함을 규명하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 17명의 문제적 과잉 성 행동자와 인구통계학적 특성이 유사한 20명의 정상대조군을 대상으로 휴지기 상태 시 자기공명영상데이터가 획득하였다. 실행기능 제어 회로(LECN, RECN)와 관련된 영역을 관심 뇌 영역으로 선정하였으며, 이들 영역간 시계열 신호와의 상관계수를 기능 연결성 정도로 가정하고 집단 간 비교 검증을 하였다. 그 결과, 정상대조군과 문제적 과잉 성행동군의 집행 통제회로의 기능적 연결 강도에 유의한 차이가 나타났다. 즉, 정상대조군에 비해 문제적 과잉 성행동군은 상/중전두회와 미상핵, 상/중전두회와 두정회의 기능적 연결성이 저하된 것으로 나타났다. 또한, 이 영역간 기능적 연결강도는 과잉 성 행동 지수와 부적상관이 있는 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구 결과는 문제적 과잉 성행동자들이 성 충동과 각성을 제어하지 못하는 것이 집행 통제회로의 기능적 연결성 저하와 관련이 있음을 시사한다.

The purpose of the study was to find grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volume reduction in the brain reward system among patients with alcohol dependency. This study investigated regional GM and WM in chronic alcoholic patients, focusing primarily on the reward system, including principal components of the mesocorticolimbic reward circuit as well as cortical areas with modulating and oversight functions. Sixteen abstinent long-term chronic alcoholic men and demographically matched 16 healthy control men participated in the study. Morphometric analysis was performed on magnetic resonance brain scans using voxel-based morphometry (VBM)-diffeomorphic Anatomical Registration through Exponentiated Liealgebra (DARTEL). We derived GM and WM volumes from total brain and cortical and subcortical reward-related structures. Morphometric analyses that revealed the total volume of GM and WM was reduced and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was increased in the alcohol group compared to control group. The pronounced volume reduction in the reward system was observed in the GM and WM of the nucleus accumbens (NAc), GM of the amygdala, GM and WM of the hippocampus, WM of the thalamus, GM and WM of the insula, GM of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), GM of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), GM of the cingulate cortex (CC), GM and WM of the parahippocampal gyrus in the alcohol group. We identified volume reductions in WM as well as GM of reward system in the patients with alcohol dependency. These structural deficits in the reward system elucidate underlying impairment in the emotional and cognitive processing in alcoholism.

The aim of the study was to investigate the neural substrates associated with processing anger among young males with alcohol use disorders (AUDs) using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Eighteen individuals with AUD and 15 demographically similar non-abusers participated in the study. Participants were scanned on their brain functioning while they viewed an audio-visual film clip that was previously designed specifically to induce anger emotion, followed by anpsychological assessment. Greater brain activities were detected in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) among subjects with AUD compared to the controls during the exposure to anger-provoking stimuli. Despite the same level of subjective anger during anger induction, the greater activations both in the IFG and dACC regions may suggestthat individuals with AUD have a greater propensity to undergo cognitive control and self-regulation while experiencing anger.