Abstract
The primary aim of this study was to investigate the genetic predisposition of Internet gaming disorder (IGD), and the secondary aim was to compare the results to those of alcohol dependence (AD). Two independent case-control studies were conducted. A total of 30 male participants with IGD, diagnosed according to the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria, and 30 sex-matched controls participated in study 1. We designed targeted exome sequencing (TES) to test for 72 candidate genes that have been implicated in the pathogenesis of addiction. The genes included seven neurotransmitter (dopamine, serotonin, glutamate, r-aminobutyric acid (GABA), norepinephrine, acetylcholine, and opioid) system genes. A total of 31 male in-patients with AD and 29 normal male controls (NC) were enrolled in study 2. The same 72 genes included in study 1 and ten additional genes related to alcohol-metabolic enzyme were selected as the target genes, and we identified the genetic variants using the same method (TES). The IGD group had a lower frequency of the T allele of rs1044396 in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha 4 subunit (CHRNA4), and this variant represents a protective allele against IGD. However, we did not find a significant difference in the polymorphisms of the 72 genes that encode neurotransmitter systems between the AD and NC groups. This study demonstrated that rs1044396 of CHRNA4 was significantly associated with IGD.
Highlights
As the Internet becomes an essential part of everyday life, the number of Internet users is increasing worldwide [1]
The average Internet game usage hours during the weekday and weekend were significantly longer and the mean Young’s Internet Addiction Test (Y-IAT), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Barratt’s Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11) scores were significantly higher in the Internet gaming disorder (IGD) group than in the normal male controls (NC) group
Our primary aim of the present study was to investigate the genetic predisposition of IGD with the secondary aim of comparing the results to those with alcohol dependence (AD)
Summary
As the Internet becomes an essential part of everyday life, the number of Internet users is increasing worldwide [1]. As Internet use grows, concern about problematic Internet use is increasing. There is no consensus as to what constitutes ‘problematic Internet use (PIU)’, it has been proposed that PIU refers to excessive Internet use that interferes with daily life [4]. Some studies have suggested that the Internet itself is not the issue, but rather the type of medium and diversity of contents, such as gambling, pornography, and gaming, that are concerning [5,6,7]. That means that PIU should be replaced by problems pertaining to these behaviors. In this context, the categorization of PIU into more specific forms, such as Internet gaming disorder (IGD), has been proposed
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