Enhanced neural responses in specific phases of reward processing in individuals with Internet gaming disorder

AbstractBackground and aimsInternet gaming disorder (IGD) has become a global health problem. The self-regulation model noted that a shift to reward system, whether due to overwhelming reward-seeking or impaired control, can lead to self-regulation failures, e.g., addiction. The present study focused on the reward processing of IGD, aiming to provide insights into the etiology of IGD. Reward processing includes three phases: reward anticipation, outcome monitoring and choice evaluation. However, it is not clear which phases of reward processing are different between individuals with IGD and healthy controls (HC).MethodsTo address this issue, the present study asked 27 individuals with IGD and 26 HC to complete a roulette task during a functional MRI scan.ResultsCompared with HC, individuals with IGD preferred to take risks in pursuit of high rewards behaviorally and showed exaggerated brain activity in the striatum (nucleus accumbens and caudate) during the reward anticipation and outcome monitoring but not during the choice evaluation.DiscussionThese results reveal that the oversensitivity of the reward system to potential and positive rewards in college students with IGD drives them to approach risky options more frequently although they are able to assess the risk values of options and the correctness of decisions properly as HC do.ConclusionsThese findings provide partial support for the application of the self-regulation model to the IGD population. Moreover, this study enriches this model from the perspective of three phases of reward processing and provides specific targets for future research regarding effective treatment of IGD.

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Disrupted prefrontal regulation of striatum-related craving in Internet gaming disorder revealed by dynamic causal modeling: results from a cue-reactivity task

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s003329172000032x ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-13 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Guang-Heng Dong ◽

Min Wang ◽

Hui Zheng ◽

Ziliang Wang ◽

Xiaoxia Du ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Internet Gaming Disorder ◽

Cingulate Cortex ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Reward Processing ◽

Causal Modeling ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Separate Analysis ◽

Gaming Disorder ◽

Lentiform Nucleus ◽

Internet Gaming

Abstract Background Studies of Internet gaming disorder (IGD) suggest an imbalanced relationship between cognitive control and reward processing in people with IGD. However, it remains unclear how these two systems interact with each other, and whether they could serve as neurobiological markers for IGD. Methods Fifty IGD subjects and matched individuals with recreational game use (RGU) were selected and compared when they were performing a cue-craving task. Regions of interests [anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), lentiform nucleus] were selected based on the comparison between brain responses to gaming-related cues and neutral cues. Directional connectivities among these brain regions were determined using Bayesian estimation. We additionally examined the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) in a separate analysis based on data implicating the PCC in craving in addiction. Results During fixed-connectivity analyses, IGD subjects showed blunted ACC-to-lentiform and lentiform-to-ACC connectivity relative to RGU subjects, especially in the left hemisphere. When facing gaming cues, IGD subjects trended toward lower left-hemispheric modulatory effects in ACC-to-lentiform connectivity than RGU subjects. Self-reported cue-related craving prior to scanning correlated inversely with left-hemispheric modulatory effects in ACC-to-lentiform connectivity. Conclusions The results suggesting that prefrontal-to-lentiform connectivity is impaired in IGD provides a possible neurobiological mechanism for difficulties in controlling gaming-cue-elicited cravings. Reduced connectivity ACC-lentiform connectivity may be a useful neurobiological marker for IGD.

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RISK FACTORS OF INTERNET GAMING AMONG FILIPINO STUDENTS

Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews ◽

10.18510/hssr.2020.8424 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 230-237

Author(s):

Marris R. Reyes

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Internet Gaming Disorder ◽

Significant Risk ◽

The Self ◽

Self Control ◽

Personality Factors ◽

The Internet ◽

Gaming Disorder ◽

Internet Gaming ◽

Filipino Students

Purpose of the study: The main objective of this study is to examine the risk factors for internet gaming disorder (IGD). Specifically, it aims to: measure the severity of internet gaming among Filipino students; describe their internet gaming characteristic; and, identify which among the risk factors predict IGD. Methodology: Students who displayed five or more symptoms in the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale – Short Form (IGD9-SF) were identified. The internet gaming characteristics, Brief Self Control Scale (BSCS) to identify self-control levels, and Mini-IPIP for the personality of the participants were also collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and linear regression analysis to identify the significant risk factors for IGD using SPSS 17.0. Main Findings: Internet gaming characteristics such as time spent, money spent, and devices used were significant risk factors to IGD. Psychological factors such as self-control and personality traits (agreeableness and openness) were established and were also significant risk factors. The lower the self-control the higher the risk of developing IGD, as well as the more agreeable and open the gamers are the higher the risk to IGD. Applications of this study: Researchers and therapists should focus on developing intervention methods focusing on minimizing the device's exposure to lessen time and money spent in gaming as well as strengthening the self-control of the gamers. Novelty/Originality of this study: This psychological inquiry contributed to the emerging psychological disorder IGD shedding light on its current debates and controversies. This established risk factors to IGD among Filipino students who are time spent, money spent, devices used, self-control, and personality factors such as agreeableness and openness.

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Reliability of the fMRI-based assessment of self-evaluation in individuals with internet gaming disorder

European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience ◽

10.1007/s00406-021-01307-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Patrick Bach ◽

Holger Hill ◽

Iris Reinhard ◽

Theresa Gädeke ◽

Falk Kiefer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Internet Gaming Disorder ◽

Brain Activation ◽

Brain Regions ◽

The Self ◽

Self Concept ◽

Gaming Disorder ◽

Retest Reliability ◽

Self Evaluation ◽

Internet Gaming ◽

Test Retest Reliability

AbstractThe self-concept—defined as the cognitive representation of beliefs about oneself—determines how individuals view themselves, others, and their actions. A negative self-concept can drive gaming use and internet gaming disorder (IGD). The assessment of the neural correlates of self-evaluation gained popularity to assess the self-concept in individuals with IGD. This attempt, however, seems to critically depend on the reliability of the investigated task-fMRI brain activation. As first study to date, we assessed test–retest reliability of an fMRI self-evaluation task. Test–retest reliability of neural brain activation between two separate fMRI sessions (approximately 12 months apart) was investigated in N = 29 healthy participants and N = 11 individuals with pathological internet gaming. We computed reliability estimates for the different task contrasts (self, a familiar, and an unknown person) and the contrast (self > familiar and unknown person). Data indicated good test–retest reliability of brain activation, captured by the “self”, “familiar person”, and “unknown person” contrasts, in a large network of brain regions in the whole sample (N = 40) and when considering both experimental groups separately. In contrast to that, only a small set of brain regions showed moderate to good reliability, when investigating the contrasts (“self > familiar and unknown person”). The lower reliability of the contrast can be attributed to the fact that the constituting contrast conditions were highly correlated. Future research on self-evaluation should be cautioned by the findings of substantial local reliability differences across the brain and employ methods to overcome these limitations.

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Cognitive control and reward/loss processing in Internet gaming disorder: Results from a comparison with recreational Internet game-users

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.03.004 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 44 ◽

pp. 30-38 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

G. Dong ◽

H. Li ◽

L. Wang ◽

M.N. Potenza

Keyword(s):

Internet Gaming Disorder ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Reward Processing ◽

Cortical Activation ◽

Small Subset ◽

Gaming Disorder ◽

Imaging Data ◽

Positive Health ◽

Internet Gaming

AbstractAlthough playing of Internet games may lead to Internet gaming disorder (IGD), most game-users do not develop problems and only a relatively small subset experiences IGD. Game playing may have positive health associations, whereas IGD has been repeatedly associated with negative health measures, and it is thus important to understand differences between individuals with IGD, recreational (non-problematic) game use (RGU) and non-/low-frequency game use (NLFGU). Individuals with IGD have shown differences in neural activations from non-gamers, yet few studies have examined neural differences between individuals with IGD, RGU and NLFGU. Eighteen individuals with IGD, 21 with RGU and 19 with NFLGU performed a color-word Stroop task and a guessing task assessing reward/loss processing. Behavioral and functional imaging data were collected and compared between groups. RGU and NLFGU subjects showed lower Stroop effects as compared with those with IGD. RGU subjects as compared to those with IGD demonstrated less frontal cortical activation brain activation during Stroop performance. During the guessing task, RGU subjects showed greater cortico-striatal activations than IGD subjects during processing of winning outcomes and greater frontal brain during processing of losing outcomes. Findings suggest that RGU as compared with IGD subjects show greater executive control and greater activations of brain regions implicated in motivational processes during reward processing and greater cortical activations during loss processing. These findings suggest neural and behavioral features distinguishing RGU from IGD and mechanisms by which RGU may be motivated to play online games frequently yet avoid developing IGD.

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Males are more sensitive to reward and less sensitive to loss than females among people with internet gaming disorder: fMRI evidence from a card-guessing task

10.21203/rs.2.15985/v1 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jialin Zhang ◽

Yan Hu ◽

Ziliang Wang ◽

Xiaoxia Du ◽

Guangheng Dong

Keyword(s):

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Internet Gaming Disorder ◽

Group Interaction ◽

Neural Mechanism ◽

Reward Processing ◽

Parahippocampal Gyrus ◽

Gaming Disorder ◽

Activation Patterns ◽

Internet Gaming ◽

Keywords Internet

Abstract Background Many studies have found an interesting issue in the Internet gaming disorder (IGD): males are always observed to be the majority. Explore why males are more vulnerable to IGD than females could help in understanding the underlying neural mechanism of IGD. Methods Data from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) were collected from 111 subjects (IGD: 29 male, 25 female; recreational gaming use (RGU): 36 male, 21 female) while they were performing a card-guessing task. We collected and compared their brain features when facing the win and loss conditions in different groups. Results For winning conditions, the gender × addiction group interaction results showed hyperactivity in the thalamus, parahippocampal gyrus and hypoactive inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) in the males with IGD relative to females. For lossing conditions, the gender × addiction group interaction results showed that compared to females with IGD, males with IGD showed decreased brain activities in the IFG and lingual gyrus. Conclusions Males and females showed opposite activation patterns in IGD degree and rewards/losses processing. And male IGD subjects are more sensitive to reward and less sensitive to loss than females, which might be the reason for the gender different rates on IGD. Keywords: Internet gaming disorder; Gender; Reward processing; Loss processing

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Altered Reward Processing System in Internet Gaming Disorder

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2020.599141 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Syeda Raiha ◽

Guochun Yang ◽

Lingxiao Wang ◽

Weine Dai ◽

Haiyan Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Risk Taking ◽

Internet Gaming Disorder ◽

Outcome Evaluation ◽

Reward Processing ◽

Event Related Potential ◽

Neural Mechanisms ◽

Gaming Addiction ◽

Gaming Disorder ◽

Internet Gaming ◽

Internet Gaming Addiction

Converging evidence indicates that addiction involves impairment in reward processing systems. However, the patterns of dysfunction in different stages of reward processing in internet gaming addiction remain unclear. In previous studies, individuals with internet gaming disorder were found to be impulsive and risk taking, but there is no general consensus on the relation between impulsivity and risk-taking tendencies in these individuals. The current study explored behavioral and electrophysiological responses associated with different stages of reward processing among individuals with internet gaming disorders (IGDs) with a delayed discounting task and simple gambling tasks. Compared to the healthy control (HC) group, the IGD group discounted delays more steeply and made more risky choices, irrespective of the outcome. As for the event-related potential (ERP) results, during the reward anticipation stage, IGDs had the same stimulus-preceding negativity (SPN) for both large and small choices, whereas HCs exhibited a higher SPN in large vs. small choices. During the outcome evaluation stage, IGDs exhibited a blunted feedback-related negativity for losses vs. gains. The results indicate impairment across different stages of reward processing among IGDs. Moreover, we found negative correlation between impulsivity indexed by BIS-11 and reward sensitivity indexed by SPN amplitude during anticipation stage only, indicating different neural mechanisms at different stages of reward processing. The current study helps to elucidate the behavioral and neural mechanisms of reward processing in internet gaming addiction.

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Treatment with the Self-Discovery Camp (SDiC) improves Internet gaming disorder

Addictive Behaviors ◽

10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.06.013 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 64 ◽

pp. 357-362 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Hiroshi Sakuma ◽

Satoko Mihara ◽

Hideki Nakayama ◽

Kumiko Miura ◽

Takashi Kitayuguchi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Internet Gaming Disorder ◽

The Self ◽

Gaming Disorder ◽

Internet Gaming ◽

Self Discovery

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Monetary Reward Discounting, Inhibitory Control, and Trait Impulsivity in Young Adults With Internet Gaming Disorder and Nicotine Dependence

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2021.628933 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Wan-Sen Yan ◽

Ruo-Ting Chen ◽

Meng-Meng Liu ◽

Dan-Hui Zheng

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Nicotine Dependence ◽

Inhibitory Control ◽

Delay Discounting ◽

Internet Gaming Disorder ◽

Reward Processing ◽

Probability Discounting ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Gaming Disorder ◽

Internet Gaming

Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has been considered a potential behavioral or non-substance addiction that requires further investigation. Recognition of the commonalities between IGD and Substance Use disorders (SUD) would be of great help to better understand the basic mechanisms of addictive behaviors and excessive Internet gaming. However, little research has targeted a straightforward contrast between IGD and SUD on neuropsychological aspects. The present study thus aimed to explore the associations of reward processing and inhibitory control with IGD and nicotine dependence (ND) in young adults. Fifty-eight IGD and 53 ND individuals, as well as 57 age- and gender-matched healthy controls, were assessed with a series of measurements including the Delay-discounting Test (DDT), Probability Discounting Test (PDT), the Stroop Color-Word Task, a revised Go/No Go Task, and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). Multivariate analysis of variance (mANOVA) models revealed that both IGD and ND groups scored higher than healthy controls on the BIS-11 attentional, motor, and non-planning impulsiveness (Cohen's d = 0.41–1.75). Higher degrees of delay discounting on the DDT were also found in IGD and ND groups compared to healthy controls (Cohen's d = 0.53–0.69). Although IGD group did not differ from healthy controls on the PDT, ND group had a lower degree of probability discounting than healthy controls (Cohen's d = 0.55), suggesting a reduction in risk aversion. Furthermore, ND subjects showed a lower correct accuracy in the incongruent trials of the Stroop task than healthy controls (Cohen's d = 0.61). On the Go/No Go task, both IGD and ND groups had a lower correct accuracy in the No-Go trials than healthy controls (Cohen's d = 1.35–1.50), indicating compromised response inhibition. These findings suggested that IGD was linked to both anomalous reward discounting and dysfunctional inhibitory control, which was comparable with one typical SUD category (i.e., ND). This study might promote a better understanding of the pathogenesis of IGD as a potential addictive disorder similar to SUD.

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