Abstract
Internet gaming disorder is associated with abnormal reward processing in the reward circuit, which is known to interact with other brain regions during feedback learning. Kim et al. (1) observed that individuals with internet game overuse (IGO) exhibit altered behavior and neural activity for non-monetary reward, but not for monetary reward. Here, we extend our analysis of IGO to the functional connectivity of the reward network. Functional MRI data were obtained during a stimulus-response association learning task from 18 young males with IGO and 20 age-matched controls, where either monetary or non-monetary rewards were given as positive feedback for a correct response. Group differences in task-dependent functional connectivity were examined for the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and ventral striatum (VS), which are known for reward evaluation and hedonic response processing, respectively, using a generalized form of the psychophysiological interaction approach. For non-monetary reward processing, no differences in functional connectivity were found. In contrast, for monetary reward, connectivity of the vmPFC with the left caudate nucleus was weaker for the IGO group relative to controls, while vmPFC connectivity with the right nucleus accumbens (NAcc) was elevated. The strength of vmPFC-NAcc functional connectivity appeared to be behaviorally relevant, because individuals with stronger vmPFC-NAcc connectivity showed lower learning rates for monetary reward. In addition, the IGO group showed weaker ventral striatum functional connectivity with various brain regions, including the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsal anterior cingulate regions, and left pallidum. Thus, for monetary reward, the IGO group exhibited stronger functional connectivity within the brain regions involved in motivational salience, whereas they showed reduced functional connectivity the widely distributed brain areas involved in learning or attention. These differences in functional connectivity of reward networks, along with related behavioral impairments of reward learning, suggest that internet gaming disorder is associated with the increased incentive salience or “wanting” of addiction disorders, and may serve as the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the impaired goal-directed behavior.
Highlights
Feedback learning is a typical goal-directed behavior in that it involves using information about outcomes from past behavior to guide future behaviors in order to obtain desirable outcomes
Using a restingstate functional connectivity approach that measures interregional correlations of spontaneous low-frequency fluctuations of blood oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signals during rest, previous studies have reported that individuals with internet gaming disorder (IGD) have alterations in intrinsic functional connectivity of the same reward circuits that are involved in addiction disorders
For the monetary reward vs. symbolic reward PPI contrast, we assessed whether changes of functional coupling patterns during processing of the monetary reward vs. symbolic reward differed between the groups
Summary
Feedback learning is a typical goal-directed behavior in that it involves using information about outcomes from past behavior to guide future behaviors in order to obtain desirable outcomes. Feedback-guided learning is known to be mediated by dopaminergic mesolimbic neurons projecting to the striatum and prefrontal cortex [2,3,4,5] This neural system has been shown to be involved in hedonic feelings [6], predicting rewards [7], and evaluating incentives [8, 9]. Yuan et al [25] reported that for IGD, this reduced connectivity is associated with cognitive control deficits, in particular, more response errors in the Stroop task These results indicate that IGD is associated with alterations in resting-state functional connectivity patterns in the cortico-straital circuits responsible for reward and cognitive control
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