Guangheng Dong1, Ziliang Wang2, Yifan Wang3, Xiaoxia Du4, Marc N Potenza5. 1. School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province 350117, P.R. China; Institute of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, PR China. Electronic address: dongguangheng@zjnu.edu.cn. 2. Institute of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, PR China. 3. School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, PR China. 4. Department of Physics, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, East China Normal University, Shanghai, PR China. 5. Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neurobiology, Child Study Center, National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA. Electronic address: Marc.Potenza@yale.edu.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Although males more frequently develop Internet gaming disorder (IGD) as compared with females, few studies have examined gender-related neurocognitive differences in IGD. TASK AND DESIGN: fMRI and subjective data were collected from 119 subjects (IGD, male 29, female 25; recreational game use (RGU), male 34, female 31) when they were actively playing games and during a forced mandatory break. Analyses investigating effects of group (IGD, RGU) and gender (male, female) on the functional connectivity (FC) of executive control and reward systems linked to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and striatum, respectively, were performed. Correlations between FC and subjective craving measures were also calculated. RESULTS: Gaming-group-by-gender interactions were observed. During gaming in males but not in females, the FC between the DLPFC and superior frontal gyrus was relatively decreased, and that between the striatum and thalamus was relatively increased. During the mandatory break, changes in the FC between DLPFC and superior frontal gyrus and the FC between the striatum and thalamus varied by gender with greater RGU-IGD differences observed in females. Significant correlations between FC and self-reported craving were observed. CONCLUSIONS: During both gaming and a forced mandatory break, brain regions implicated in executive control and reward processing showed changes in FC that varied by gender. Brain regions implicated in executive control showed differential FC in males during gaming, and FC during the forced mandatory break appeared relevant to both genders, and perhaps particularly for females. The findings suggest possible neural mechanisms for why males appear more likely to develop IGD, and why it may be particularly difficult for individuals with IGD to cease gaming.
BACKGROUND: Although males more frequently develop Internet gaming disorder (IGD) as compared with females, few studies have examined gender-related neurocognitive differences in IGD. TASK AND DESIGN: fMRI and subjective data were collected from 119 subjects (IGD, male 29, female 25; recreational game use (RGU), male 34, female 31) when they were actively playing games and during a forced mandatory break. Analyses investigating effects of group (IGD, RGU) and gender (male, female) on the functional connectivity (FC) of executive control and reward systems linked to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and striatum, respectively, were performed. Correlations between FC and subjective craving measures were also calculated. RESULTS: Gaming-group-by-gender interactions were observed. During gaming in males but not in females, the FC between the DLPFC and superior frontal gyrus was relatively decreased, and that between the striatum and thalamus was relatively increased. During the mandatory break, changes in the FC between DLPFC and superior frontal gyrus and the FC between the striatum and thalamus varied by gender with greater RGU-IGD differences observed in females. Significant correlations between FC and self-reported craving were observed. CONCLUSIONS: During both gaming and a forced mandatory break, brain regions implicated in executive control and reward processing showed changes in FC that varied by gender. Brain regions implicated in executive control showed differential FC in males during gaming, and FC during the forced mandatory break appeared relevant to both genders, and perhaps particularly for females. The findings suggest possible neural mechanisms for why males appear more likely to develop IGD, and why it may be particularly difficult for individuals with IGD to cease gaming.
Authors: Mehran Zare-Bidoky; Arshiya Sangchooli; Hamed Ekhtiari; Amy C Janes; Marc J Kaufman; Jason A Oliver; James J Prisciandaro; Torsten Wüstenberg; Raymond F Anton; Patrick Bach; Alex Baldacchino; Anne Beck; James M Bjork; Judson Brewer; Anna Rose Childress; Eric D Claus; Kelly E Courtney; Mohsen Ebrahimi; Francesca M Filbey; Dara G Ghahremani; Peyman Ghobadi Azbari; Rita Z Goldstein; Anna E Goudriaan; Erica N Grodin; J Paul Hamilton; Colleen A Hanlon; Peyman Hassani-Abharian; Andreas Heinz; Jane E Joseph; Falk Kiefer; Arash Khojasteh Zonoozi; Hedy Kober; Rayus Kuplicki; Qiang Li; Edythe D London; Joseph McClernon; Hamid R Noori; Max M Owens; Martin P Paulus; Irene Perini; Marc Potenza; Stéphane Potvin; Lara Ray; Joseph P Schacht; Dongju Seo; Rajita Sinha; Michael N Smolka; Rainer Spanagel; Vaughn R Steele; Elliot A Stein; Sabine Steins-Loeber; Susan F Tapert; Antonio Verdejo-Garcia; Sabine Vollstädt-Klein; Reagan R Wetherill; Stephen J Wilson; Katie Witkiewitz; Kai Yuan; Xiaochu Zhang; Anna Zilverstand Journal: Nat Protoc Date: 2022-02-04 Impact factor: 17.021
Authors: Dimitri A Christakis; Julian S Benedikt Ramirez; Susan M Ferguson; Shilpa Ravinder; Jan-Marino Ramirez Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2018-10-02 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: Anderson R Stolf; Renata B Cupertino; Diana Müller; Breno Sanvicente-Vieira; Tatiana Roman; Eduardo S Vitola; Eugenio H Grevet; Lisia von Diemen; Felix H P Kessler; Rodrigo Grassi-Oliveira; Claiton H D Bau; Diego L Rovaris; Flavio Pechansky; Jaqueline B Schuch Journal: J Neural Transm (Vienna) Date: 2018-10-26 Impact factor: 3.575