What question did this study set out to answer?

To determine how experimental design factors and clinical characteristics systematically influence neural patterns during fMRI drug cue reactivity tasks.

December 24, 2025Neuroscience & Biobehavioral ReviewsOpen Access

The modulatory effects of design-related and clinical factors in neural drug cue reactivity: An ALE meta-analysis

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Authors

MFMaximilian FascherMSH Medical School Hamburg – University of Applied Sciences and Medical University HTHenriette ThomsenMSH Medical School Hamburg – University of Applied Sciences and Medical University MMMarkus MuehlhanMSH Medical School Hamburg – University of Applied Sciences and Medical University

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Implication

Meta-analysis reveals task design and clinical factors systematically modulate neural drug cue reactivity, highlighting pervasive visual confounds and the need for standardized fMRI paradigms.

Key Points

To determine how experimental design factors and clinical characteristics systematically influence neural patterns during fMRI drug cue reactivity tasks.
Conducted a systematic review and activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis of 92 fMRI studies comprising 3,647 participants.
Evaluated design factors (task design, control valence, stimulus matching) and clinical factors (treatment compliance, drug severity, substance class) using contrast analyses and penalised logistic regression.
Default-mode network (DMN) regions predominated core reactivity, with anterior DMN involvement declining and amygdala recruitment increasing alongside greater drug use severity.
Treatment-compliant cohorts exhibited elevated superior parietal reactivity, whereas substances other than alcohol and nicotine showed greater amygdala involvement.
Temporo-occipital and fusiform cortex activations were systematically associated with poorly matched visual control stimuli, demonstrating widespread visual confounds in the literature.

Cite This Study

Fascher et al. (2025) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a109bc4e1a472cb5efd3808 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106537

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Implication

Meta-analysis reveals task design and clinical factors systematically modulate neural drug cue reactivity, highlighting pervasive visual confounds and the need for standardized fMRI paradigms.

The modulatory effects of design-related and clinical factors in neural drug cue reactivity: An ALE meta-analysis

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

The modulatory effects of design-related and clinical factors in neural drug cue reactivity: An ALE meta-analysis

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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