Internet and gaming addiction: a systematic literature review of neuroimaging studies.

Daria J Kuss,Mark D Griffiths

doi:10.3390/brainsci2030347

Abstract

In the past decade, research has accumulated suggesting that excessive Internet use can lead to the development of a behavioral addiction. Internet addiction has been considered as a serious threat to mental health and the excessive use of the Internet has been linked to a variety of negative psychosocial consequences. The aim of this review is to identify all empirical studies to date that used neuroimaging techniques to shed light upon the emerging mental health problem of Internet and gaming addiction from a neuroscientific perspective. Neuroimaging studies offer an advantage over traditional survey and behavioral research because with this method, it is possible to distinguish particular brain areas that are involved in the development and maintenance of addiction. A systematic literature search was conducted, identifying 18 studies. These studies provide compelling evidence for the similarities between different types of addictions, notably substance-related addictions and Internet and gaming addiction, on a variety of levels. On the molecular level, Internet addiction is characterized by an overall reward deficiency that entails decreased dopaminergic activity. On the level of neural circuitry, Internet and gaming addiction led to neuroadaptation and structural changes that occur as a consequence of prolonged increased activity in brain areas associated with addiction. On a behavioral level, Internet and gaming addicts appear to be constricted with regards to their cognitive functioning in various domains. The paper shows that understanding the neuronal correlates associated with the development of Internet and gaming addiction will promote future research and will pave the way for the development of addiction treatment approaches.

Highlights

In the past decade, research has accumulated suggesting that excessive Internet use can lead to the development of a behavioral addiction (e.g., [1,2,3,4])
The results showed that Internet addiction was associated with increased activation in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in gain trials, and decreased anterior cingulate activation in loss trials compared to normal controls
The results of the Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies indicate that brain regions associated with reward, addiction, craving, and emotion are increasingly activated during game play and presentation of game cues, for addicted Internet users and gamers, including the NAc, AMG, AC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), IC, right caudate nucleus (rCN), rOFC, insula, PMC, precuneus [42,43]

Summary

Introduction

Research has accumulated suggesting that excessive Internet use can lead to the development of a behavioral addiction (e.g., [1,2,3,4]). Clinical evidence suggests that Internet addicts experience a number of biopsychosocial symptoms and consequences [5]. These include symptoms traditionally associated with substance-related addictions, namely salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, conflict, and relapse [6]. Internet addiction comprises a heterogeneous spectrum of Internet activities with a potential illness value, such as gaming, shopping, gambling, or social networking. Mental health professionals’ and researchers’ extensive proposals to include Internet addiction as mental disorder in the forthcoming fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Gaming represents a part of the postulated construct of Internet addiction, and gaming addiction appears to be the most widely studied specific form of Internet addiction to date [7].

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