Abstract
Adaptive gaming use has positive effects, whereas depression has been reported to be prevalent in Internet gaming disorder (IGD). However, the neural correlates underlying the association between depression and Internet gaming remain unclear. Moreover, the neuroanatomical profile of the striatum in IGD is relatively less clear despite its important role in addiction. We found lower gray matter (GM) density in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in the IGD group than in the Internet gaming control (IGC) group and non-gaming control (NGC) group, and the GM density was associated with lifetime usage of Internet gaming, depressed mood, craving, and impulsivity in the gaming users. Striatal volumetric analysis detected a significant reduction in the right nucleus accumbens (NAcc) in the IGD group and its association with lifetime usage of gaming and depression. These findings suggest that alterations in the brain structures involved in the reward system are associated with IGD-related behavioral characteristics. Furthermore, the DLPFC, involved in cognitive control, was observed to serve as a mediator in the association between prolonged gaming and depressed mood. This finding may provide insight into an intervention strategy for treating IGD with comorbid depression.
Highlights
Playing Internet games has recently become a popular activity[1]
Our findings demonstrate that the Internet gaming disorder (IGD) group exhibited decreased gray matter (GM) density in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) compared with the Internet gaming control (IGC) and non-gaming control (NGC) groups
In the Internet gaming groups, lower GM density in the DLPFC was associated with more severe symptoms of IGD, more depressed mood, longer gaming time in life, more craving for gaming, and more impulsivity
Summary
Playing Internet games has recently become a popular activity[1]. While the adaptive use of Internet gaming improves spatial cognition[2,3,4,5] and functions as entertainment, prolonged exposure to and a loss of control over Internet gaming have repercussions for an individual’s emotion, cognition and behavior[6,7,8,9,10,11]. Altered activation in the frontal areas[26, 27] and striatum[28] in response to gaming cues have been reported in the IGD group These findings are in accordance with the results of studies on pathological gambling and substance use disorder[29, 30], supporting the emerging view that IGD is regarded as a type of behavioral addiction. Despite its essential role in addiction, the neuroanatomical characteristics of the striatum are relatively less investigated in IGD research except for two studies conducted by a team of researchers[19, 20] These studies reported increased volume of the caudate nucleus and nucleus accumbens (NAcc), which were associated with cognitive control and the severity of the addiction, respectively. Because the subjects of these studies were adolescents and young adults and included females, we attempted to study males in their 20 s and 30 s including non-gaming users in the current study
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