Inhibitory control impairment in alcohol use disorder (AUD) may indicate detrimental effects of chronic alcohol use on different functional systems in the brain, but the current studies lack consistency. This study aims to identify the most consistent response inhibition-related brain dysfunction based on existing data.

We performed systematic searches of the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and PsychINFO databases for available studies. Anisotropic effect-size signed differential mapping was used to quantitatively analyze the differences in response inhibition-related brain activation between AUD patients and HCs. Meta regression was used to explore the relationship between brain alterations and clinical variables.

The brain hypoactivation or hyperactivation in AUD patients compared with HCs during the response inhibition tasks was mainly located in the prefrontal cortex including the superior frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, and middle frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate gyrus (ACC), superior temporal gyrus, occipital gyrus, and somatosensory areas including postcentral gyrus and supramarginal gyrus. The meta-regression revealed that older patients were more likely to present activation in the left superior frontal gyrus when performing the response inhibition tasks.

The response inhibitive dysfunctions in a distinct prefrontal-cingulate cortices may presumably reflect the core impairment in cognitive control abilities. Dysfunction in the occipital gyrus and somatosensory areas may indicate an abnormal motor-sensory and visual function in AUD. Such functional abnormalities may represent neurophysiological correlates of the executive deficits observed in AUD patients. This study has been registered in PROSPERO (number CRD42022339384).

Alcohol use disorder

Brain Image

Inhibition response

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