Abstract
Disrupted reward circuits and diminished behavioural control have been suggested as the pathophysiologies of Internet gaming disorder (IGD). Family functioning is thought to play an important role in reward-related control. We hypothesized that adolescents with IGD show disrupted patterns of family relationships, which are associated with brain activity within the reward circuit. 42 adolescents with IGD without comorbidities and 41 healthy controls were assessed for family function and psychological states using the Korean Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (K-WISC), Korean version of DuPaul’s attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Rating Scale (K-ARS), Young Internet Addiction Scale (YIAS), Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the relationship domain of the Family Environmental Scale (FES-R). Brain activity was assessed via resting-state fMRI. Adolescents with IGD showed increased K-ARS, BAI, and YIAS scores, but decreased FES-R and FES-cohesion subscale scores; YIAS scores were negatively correlated with FES-R scores. Brain connectivity from the cingulate to the striatum was decreased, positively correlated with FES-R scores, and negatively correlated with IGD severity. Adolescents with IGD showed disrupted family relationships, which was associated with the severity of the disorder, and dis-connectivity within the reward circuit.
Highlights
Disrupted reward circuits and diminished behavioural control have been suggested as the pathophysiologies of Internet gaming disorder (IGD)
There were no significant differences in age, school education, IQ, and Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) scores between adolescents with IGD and healthy control subjects (Table 1)
Post-hoc tests on the Family Environmental Scale-relationship domain (FES-R) scores showed that the cohesion subscale scores of the FES-R were lower for adolescents with IGD than for healthy controls (t = −8.76, p < 0.01)
Summary
Disrupted reward circuits and diminished behavioural control have been suggested as the pathophysiologies of Internet gaming disorder (IGD). We hypothesized that adolescents with IGD show disrupted patterns of family relationships, which are associated with brain activity within the reward circuit. 42 adolescents with IGD without comorbidities and 41 healthy controls were assessed for family function and psychological states using the Korean Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (K-WISC), Korean version of DuPaul’s attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Rating Scale (K-ARS), Young Internet Addiction Scale (YIAS), Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the relationship domain of the Family Environmental Scale (FES-R). Adolescents with IGD showed disrupted family relationships, which was associated with the severity of the disorder, and dis-connectivity within the reward circuit. Pauli-Pott et al.[14] suggested that good maternal responsiveness and sensitivity could predict the development of reward-related control in children
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