Abstract
In the last few decades, video game playing progressively became a widespread activity for many people, in childhood as well in adulthood. An increasing amount of literature has focused on pathological and non-pathological correlates of video game playing, with specific attention towards Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). While many neurobiological studies in this field were based on neuroimaging, highlighting structural and functional brain changes among video game users, only a limited number of studies investigated the presence of biochemical correlates of video gaming. The present work aims to summarize and review the available literature about biochemical changes linked to video game use in IGD patients as well as non-pathological users, and the differences in between. Results may shed light on risks and benefits of video games, providing directions for further research on IGD treatment and, on other hand, on the potential role of video games in therapeutic or preventive protocols for specific conditions.
Highlights
Until the last few years, Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) was called as problem video game use, video game addiction, computer addiction, compulsive Internet use, pathological Internet use, maladaptive Internet use, Internet addiction, problematic
In line with studies which highlighted a relationship between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and drug addiction [110], the results showed a significantly shorter LTL in IGD subjects and a positive correlation with LTL, Epi, and NE levels
A significant reduction in binding potential was highlighted in the caudate after the performance compared with the baseline measurement, while there was no reduction among the former ecstasy users, probably due to previous sensitization to stimulant drugs. These results suggest that video game playing may cause a DA release similar to the effects of psycho-stimulant drugs such as methylphenidate [115,116] and amphetamine [117]
Summary
Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has represented a matter of interest in psychiatric research since the early 1990s. It is usually defined as a continuous and repeated involvement with video games, often leading to significant daily, work, and/or educational disruptions [1,2,3]. Several labels have been used to name this pathological behaviour, without a common agreement, and including or not the problematic use of video games outside the Internet [5]. Until the last few years, IGD was called as problem video game use, video game addiction, computer addiction, compulsive Internet use, pathological Internet use, maladaptive Internet use, Internet addiction, problematic
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