Department of Neurology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Turku PET Centre, University of Turku, Turku, Finland; Turku Post Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
Medical Imaging Centre of Southwest Finland, Turku, Finland.
Psychiatry Res. 2011 Dec 30;194(3):340-346. doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2011.08.001. Epub 2011 Nov 10.
Several magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in substance use disorders have shown brain white matter integrity abnormalities, but there are no studies in pathological gambling, a form of behavioral addiction. Our objective was to investigate possible changes in regional brain gray and white matter volumes, and axonal white matter integrity in pathological gamblers compared to healthy controls. Twenty-four subjects (12 clinically diagnosed male pathological gamblers and 12 age-matched healthy male volunteers) underwent structural and diffusion weighted brain MRI scans, which were analyzed with voxel-based morphometry and tract based spatial statistics. In pathological gamblers, widespread lower white matter integrity (lower fractional anisotropy, higher mean diffusivity) was seen in multiple brain regions including the corpus callosum, the cingulum, the superior longitudinal fascicle, the inferior fronto-occipital fascicle, the anterior limb of internal capsule, the anterior thalamic radiation, the inferior longitudinal fascicle and the uncinate/inferior fronto-occipital fascicle. There were no volumetric differences in gray or white matter between pathological gamblers and controls. The results suggest that pathological gambling is associated with extensive lower integrity of several brain white matter tracts. The diffusion abnormality closely resembles previous findings in individuals with substance addictions.
几项物质使用障碍的磁共振成像（MRI）研究表明，大脑白质完整性异常，但在病理性赌博中，即一种行为成瘾，尚无相关研究。我们的目的是调查病理性赌博者与健康对照组之间，区域性脑灰质和白质体积以及轴突白质完整性的可能变化。24 名受试者（12 名临床诊断的男性病理性赌博者和 12 名年龄匹配的健康男性志愿者）接受了结构和弥散加权脑 MRI 扫描，并使用体素形态计量学和基于束流的空间统计学进行了分析。在病理性赌博者中，在包括胼胝体、扣带、上纵束、下额枕束、内囊前肢、前丘脑辐射、下纵束和钩束/下额枕束在内的多个脑区，均观察到广泛的较低白质完整性（较低的各向异性分数，较高的平均弥散度）。病理性赌博者与对照组之间，灰质或白质的体积无差异。研究结果表明，病理性赌博与几个脑白质束的广泛低完整性有关。弥散异常与之前物质成瘾个体的发现密切相似。
