Decreased prefrontal lobe interhemispheric functional connectivity in adolescents with internet gaming disorder: a primary study using resting-state FMRI.

Yao Wang,Jian-Rong Xu,Ya-Song Du,Wei-Na Ding,Yan Yin,Xue Chen,Wei Li,Ya-Wen Sun,Yan Zhou,Wei Wang,Martin Walter

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0118733

Abstract

PurposesRecent neuroimaging studies have shown that people with Internet gaming disorder (IGD) have structural and functional abnormalities in specific brain areas and connections. However, little is known about the alterations of the interhemispheric resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in participants with IGD. In the present study, we used a newly developed voxel-mirrored homotopic connectivity (VMHC) method to investigate the interhemispheric rsFC of the whole brain in participants with IGD.MethodsWe compared interhemispheric rsFC between 17 participants with IGD and 24 healthy controls, group-matched on age, gender, and education status. All participants were provided written informed consent. Resting-state functional and structural magnetic resonance images were acquired for all participants. The rsFC between bilateral homotopic voxels was calculated. Regions showing abnormal VMHC in IGD participants were adopted as regions of interest for correlation analyses.ResultsCompared to healthy controls, IGD participants showed decreased VMHC between the left and right superior frontal gyrus (orbital part), inferior frontal gyrus (orbital part), middle frontal gyrus and superior frontal gyrus. Further analyses showed Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS)-related VMHC in superior frontal gyrus (orbital part) and CIAS (r = −0.55, p = 0.02, uncorrected).ConclusionsOur findings implicate the important role of altered interhemispheric rsFC in the bilateral prefrontal lobe in the neuropathological mechanism of IGD, and provide further supportive evidence for the reclassification of IGD as a behavioral addiction.

Highlights

The Internet has become one of the most important academic and recreational tools for adolescents and adults
Our findings implicate the important role of altered interhemispheric resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in the bilateral prefrontal lobe in the neuropathological mechanism of Internet gaming disorder (IGD), and provide further supportive evidence for the reclassification of IGD as a behavioral addiction
Internet gaming disorder (IGD), known as Internet addiction disorder, is defined as persistent and recurrent use of the Internet to engage in games, which may lead to significant psychological distress and interfere with daily social life [2]

Summary

Introduction

The Internet has become one of the most important academic and recreational tools for adolescents and adults. Excessive and prolonged Internet gaming can result in negative consequences, such as impaired real-life relationships or academic performance [3]. As it is of significant public health importance, the DSM-V proposed the diagnostic criteria of IGD to define addiction to Internet gaming. Epidemiological surveys have reported that the prevalence of IGD ranges from 2.4 to 10.7 percent in youth population in China, depending on various different diagnostic criteria [4,5,6]

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