Binge drinking (BD) is a common pattern of alcohol consumption which is generating great concern because of its deleterious consequences. We selected 33 neuroimaging studies of healthy young binge drinkers (BDs) by following PRISMA guidelines. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the relationship between BD and neurocognitive anomalies reported across magnetic resonance studies. Moreover, this work is the first in which results of relatively new imaging techniques, such as resting-state functional connectivity (RS-FC) and neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging (NODDI), have been reviewed using a systematic procedure. We established strict inclusion criteria in order to isolate the various potential effects of BD on the adolescent brain. Two authors independently evaluated the methodological quality, assessing different aspects related to sample size, and statistical correction methods, which are of particular importance in neuroimaging studies. BD is associated with structural and functional anomalies in several cortical and subcortical brain regions intimately involved in the control and regulation of impulsive or risky behaviours, as well as in the processing of reinforcing stimuli.

Background: Binge Drinking (BD), a highly prevalent drinking pattern among youth, has been linked with anomalies in inhibitory control. However, it is still not well characterized whether the neural mechanisms involved in this process are compromised in binge drinkers (BDs). Furthermore, recent findings suggest that exerting inhibitory control to alcohol-related stimuli requires an increased effort in BDs, relative to controls, but the brain regions subserving these effects have also been scarcely investigated. Here we explored the impact of BD on the pattern of neural activity mediating response inhibition and its modulation by the motivational salience of stimuli (alcohol-related content). Methods: Sixty-seven (36 females) first-year university students, classified as BDs (n = 32) or controls (n = 35), underwent fMRI as they performed an alcohol-cued Go/NoGo task in which pictures of alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages were presented as Go or NoGo stimuli. Results: During successful inhibition trials, BDs relative to controls showed greater activity in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), extending to the anterior insula, a brain region usually involved in response inhibition tasks, despite the lack of behavioral differences between groups. Moreover, BDs displayed increased activity in this region restricted to the right hemisphere when inhibiting a prepotent response to alcohol-related stimuli. Conclusions: The increased neural activity in the IFG/insula during response inhibition in BDs, in the absence of behavioral impairments, could reflect a compensatory mechanism. The findings suggest that response inhibition-related activity in the right IFG/insula is modulated by the motivational salience of stimuli and highlight the role of this brain region in suppressing responses to substance-associated cues.

Binge drinking (BD) involves consuming large amounts of alcohol within a short timeframe, leading to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08g/dL or above. This pattern of alcohol consumption is prevalent among young adults and has significant implications for brain structure and subsequent drinking behaviors. In this prospective longitudinal study, we employed zero-inflated negative binomial regression models to examine whether various neurostructural features (i.e., volume, surface area, cortical thickness) of brain regions involved in executive and emotional/motivational processes at the age of 18-19 could predict number of BD episodes five years later, at ages 23-24, once participants were expected to complete their university degree. Specifically, we recorded magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 68 students who completed both the baseline MRI and follow-up alcohol use assessment, with the aim of analyzing the predictive value of these neurostructural characteristics five years later. The analysis revealed that a larger surface area in the caudal division of the right middle frontal gyrus was significantly associated with a higher incidence rate of BD episodes (IRR = 2.24, 95 % CI = 1.28-3.91, p = 0.005). Conversely, a smaller surface area in the right caudal anterior cingulate cortex was associated with a higher incidence rate of BD episodes (IRR = 0.61, 95 % CI = 0.44-0.85, p = 0.004). These findings suggest that specific neurostructural characteristics during adolescence can predict BD behaviors in young adulthood. This highlights the potential of neuroimaging to identify individuals at risk for developing problematic alcohol use.