Internet Addiction Disorder Group Research Articles

Spontaneous brain microstates correlate with impaired inhibitory control in internet addiction disorder.

The prevalence of the Internet addiction disorder (IAD) has been on the rise, making it increasingly imperative to explore the neurophysiological markers of it. Using the whole-brain imaging approach of EEG microstate analysis, which treats multichannel EEG recordings as a series of quasi-steady states, similar as the resting-state networks found by fMRI, the present study aimed to investigate the specificity of the IAD in class C of the four canonical microstates. The existing EEG data of 40 participants (N=20 for each group) was used, and correlation between the time parameters of microstate C and the performance of the Go/NoGo task was analyzed. Results suggested that the duration and coverage of class C were significantly reduced in the IAD group as compared to the healthy control (HC) group. Furthermore, the duration of class C had a significant inverse correlation with Go RTs in the IAD group. These results implied that class C might serve as a neurophysiological marker of IAD, helping to understand the underlying neural mechanism of inhibitory control in IAD.

Slow-Wave EEG Activity Correlates with Impaired Inhibitory Control in Internet Addiction Disorder.

Impaired inhibitory control is a core feature of internet addiction disorder (IAD). It is therefore of interest to determine the neurophysiological markers associated with it. The present study aimed to find such biomarkers with a resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG). We specifically used scores on the Chinese Internet Addiction Scale revised edition (CIAS-R) to divide 46 participants into two groups: the IAD group (>53, n = 23) and control group (<46, n = 23). Both behavioral aspects (Go/NoGo responses and impulsivity) and EEG were measured in the lab. The results suggest that the IAD group presented a decreased slow-wave (1–8 Hz) absolute power across the whole brain. The slow-wave activities in the frontal areas were also correlated with the commission error rate in the Go/NoGo task in the IAD group. These results imply that the frontal slow-wave EEG activity may serve as a neurophysiological marker of IAD, helping to understand the underlying neural mechanisms of inhibitory control deficits in IAD and point to possible interventions.

Internet addiction disorder in referred adolescents: a clinical study on comorbidity

Background It is currently debated whether specific psychiatric disorders or Internalizing versus Externalizing psychopathological dimensions are associated to Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD). We explored this issue in youth with and without IAD referred to a third-level Department of Adolescent Psychiatry during a 12-month period. Method All the 101 consecutively referred adolescents were assessed using categorical (Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School- Age Children-K-SADS) and dimensional (Child Behavior Checklist-CBCL) measures of psychopathology, and two measures for addictive behaviors, Internet Addiction Test (IAT) (used as screening for detecting IAD patients) and Use, Abuse, Dependence on the Internet (UADI) inventory. Results According to an IAT cutoff score of 50, 39 patients (38.6%) presented IAD. The IAD and the no IAD groups did not differ according to age and gender. Most of the IAD patients (92.3%) endorsed multiple addictions. The IAD group had higher scores in all the UADI dimensions, except for Impact of Life. All the IAD patients endorsed psychiatric diagnoses, but only Autism Spectrum Disorders were more represented in the IAD group. According to the CBCL, patients with IAD had more social problems and anxiety symptoms. However, clusters analysis with the t-scores of the CBCL scales of Internalizing and Externalizing domains showed no differences in IAT and UADI scores among clusters. Limitations The small sample size and a selection bias (referrals for severe symptomatology) limit the generalization of the findings. Conclusions Comorbidity should be systematically assessed in IAD adolescents, with categorical and dimensional measures, as it may guide personalized treatments.

Attention, working memory and executive functions in patients with internet addiction disorder

Background: Attention, working memory and executive functions are high cortical activities which can be impaired in patients with internet addiction disorder (IAD). Many studies have shown a considerable cognitive deficit compared with healthy individuals. The aim of the study was to determine the possible deficits in the afflicted patients in an Iranian population. Methods: In this descriptive- analytic study, 30 patients with internet addiction disorder were recruited compared with 30 healthy counterparts through semi-structured interview (SCID), Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). The drop-out rates were 10 and 13 percent for IAD and control group, respectively. Cognitive functions were assessed by Persian Paper and Pencil Cognitive Assessment Package (PCAP).Data were analyzed through SPSS-23 by Analysis of variance and chi- square. P- Values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Stroop test and Verbal fluency test showed no significant difference in attention and executive functions between the groups (p>0.05) but Backward Digit Span Test (BDST) and Letter Number Sequencing Test (LNST) revealed a significant difference (p< 0.001). Conclusion: The results showed that patients with IAD were suffering from working memory impairments which may impact on educational functioning especially among students.

Impaired Empathy Processing in Individuals with Internet Addiction Disorder: An Event-Related Potential Study.

Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is associated with deficits in social communication and avoidance of social contact. It has been hypothesized that people with IAD may have an impaired capacity for empathy. The purpose of the current study was to examine the processing of empathy for others’ pain in IADs. Event-related potentials produced in response to pictures showing others in painful and non-painful situations were recorded in 16 IAD subjects and 16 healthy controls (HCs). The N1, P2, N2, P3, and late positive potential components were compared between the two groups. Robust picture × group interactions were observed for N2 and P3. The painful pictures elicited larger N2 and P3 amplitudes than the non-painful pictures did only in the HC group but not in the IAD group. The results of this study suggest that both of the early automatic and of the later cognitive processes of pain empathy may be impaired in IADs. This study provides psychophysical evidence of empathy deficits in association with IAD. Further studies combining multidimensional measurements of empathy are needed to confirm these findings.

Examining the Application of the DC-IA-A Diagnostic Criteria for Internet Addiction Disorder in At-Risk College Students

Internet addiction disorder is a relatively new condition, and the criteria for its diagnosis have been developed only over the last several years. The criteria for Internet addiction remain controversial. We strive to further elucidate the clinical validity of the diagnostic criteria for Internet addiction. To test items of the diagnostic criteria for Internet addiction among adolescents, we conducted a clinical interview study of college students based on longitudinal data on their risky use of the Internet. Forty-one high-risk cases were selected from a 3-year 5-time point longitudinal survey of 716 college freshmen. We examined disputes relevant to symptoms and impairment in the DC-IA-A (Diagnostic Criteria for Internet Addiction among Taiwanese Adolescents). Of the 41 cases, 21 were diagnosed with Internet addiction via a psychiatric interview. In the Internet addiction disorder group, 23.8% of cases had a diagnosis of depression, whereas only 15.0% of the cases in the non-Internet addiction group had a diagnosis of depression. Two major criteria (A8 and A3) had low incidences in these high-risk college students and thus did not help provide a differential diagnosis between the groups. We suggest that A8, ‘excessive effort spent on activities necessary to obtain access to the Internet', should be omitted, and that A3, ‘tolerance: a marked increase in the duration of Internet use needed to achieve satisfaction', should be modified. A1 and A9 should be discussed regarding their role in the diagnosis of Internet addiction disorder. Additional well-designed studies examining the diagnostic criteria and the relationship between factors are needed.

Aberrant corticostriatal functional circuits in adolescents with Internet addiction disorder.

Abnormal structure and function in the striatum and prefrontal cortex (PFC) have been revealed in Internet addiction disorder (IAD). However, little is known about alterations of corticostriatal functional circuits in IAD. The aim of this study was to investigate the integrity of corticostriatal functional circuits and their relations to neuropsychological measures in IAD by resting-state functional connectivity (FC). Fourteen IAD adolescents and 15 healthy controls underwent resting-state fMRI scans. Using six predefined bilateral striatal regions-of-interest, voxel-wise correlation maps were computed and compared between groups. Relationships between alterations of corticostriatal connectivity and clinical measurements were examined in the IAD group. Compared to controls, IAD subjects exhibited reduced connectivity between the inferior ventral striatum and bilateral caudate head, subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and posterior cingulate cortex, and between the superior ventral striatum and bilateral dorsal/rostral ACC, ventral anterior thalamus, and putamen/pallidum/insula/inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and between the dorsal caudate and dorsal/rostral ACC, thalamus, and IFG, and between the left ventral rostral putamen and right IFG. IAD subjects also showed increased connectivity between the left dorsal caudal putamen and bilateral caudal cigulate motor area. Moreover, altered cotricostriatal functional circuits were significantly correlated with neuropsychological measures. This study directly provides evidence that IAD is associated with alterations of corticostriatal functional circuits involved in the affective and motivation processing, and cognitive control. These findings emphasize that functional connections in the corticostriatal circuits are modulated by affective/motivational/cognitive states and further suggest that IAD may have abnormalities of such modulation in this network.

Relationship of treatment outcome with monoamine neurotransmitter content in peripheral blood in patients with internet addiction disorder

Objective To investigate the changes of the concentrations of monoamine neurotransmitter serotonin(5-HT), dopamine(DA), norepinephrine(NE)in peripheral blood in patients with internet addiction disorder (IAD) between before and after the treatment, and to analyze the correlation with treatment effect. Methods 35 cases with IAD(IAD group)before and after treatment and 35 healthy volunteers matched with sex,age and education(control group)were detected the concentration of 5- HT in peripheral platelets by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC), and DA and NE in plasma by enzyme-linked immuno- sorbent assay(ELISA), respectively. The Chinese Internet Addiction Scale(CIAS), Family Assessment Device(FAD), HAMD, HAMA were used to determine the internet addiction severity of two groups and the curative efficacy of IAD group. To compare the concentrations of 5- HT,DA,NE between before and after treatment in IAD group, and compared with the control group, and the correlation analysis was performed between it and the treatment effect(scale). Results (1) Before treatment, the concentration of 5- HT in IAD group(427.82±136.28)ng/L was significantly lower than in the control group(522.63±123.25)ng/L(t= 3.052,P 0.05).(3) The negative correlation was found between the concentration of 5- HT and the scores of scales(CIAS,FAD,HAMa+ d)(r=- 0.653,- 0.547,- 0.409,all P< 0.05),while DA had significantly positive correlation with the scores(r= 0.406, 0.375,0.423,all P< 0.05),NE was positively correlated with the scores(r= 0.505,0.338,0.545,all P< 0.05). Conclusion The concentrations of monoamine neurotransmitters in the peripheral blood in patients with IAD may be related to the efficacy. The concentration of 5- HT had positive correlation with the efficacy, DA,NE had negative correlation with it. Key words: Behavior, Addictive; Computer Communication Networks; Monoamine neurotransmitter; 5-hydroxytryptamine(5-HT); Dopamine(DA); Norepinephrine(NE); Treatment Outcome

Disrupted brain functional network in internet addiction disorder: a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is increasingly recognized as a mental health disorder, particularly among adolescents. The pathogenesis associated with IAD, however, remains unclear. In this study, we aim to explore the encephalic functional characteristics of IAD adolescents at rest using functional magnetic resonance imaging data. We adopted a graph-theoretic approach to investigate possible disruptions of functional connectivity in terms of network properties including small-worldness, efficiency, and nodal centrality on 17 adolescents with IAD and 16 socio-demographically matched healthy controls. False discovery rate-corrected parametric tests were performed to evaluate the statistical significance of group-level network topological differences. In addition, a correlation analysis was performed to assess the relationships between functional connectivity and clinical measures in the IAD group. Our results demonstrate that there is significant disruption in the functional connectome of IAD patients, particularly between regions located in the frontal, occipital, and parietal lobes. The affected connections are long-range and inter-hemispheric connections. Although significant alterations are observed for regional nodal metrics, there is no difference in global network topology between IAD and healthy groups. In addition, correlation analysis demonstrates that the observed regional abnormalities are correlated with the IAD severity and behavioral clinical assessments. Our findings, which are relatively consistent between anatomically and functionally defined atlases, suggest that IAD causes disruptions of functional connectivity and, importantly, that such disruptions might link to behavioral impairments.

Internet addictive individuals share impulsivity and executive dysfunction with alcohol-dependent patients.

Internet addiction disorder (IAD) should belong to a kind of behavioral addiction. Previous studies indicated that there are many similarities in the neurobiology of behavior and substance addictions. Up to date, although individuals with IAD have difficulty in suppressing their excessive online behaviors in real life, little is known about the patho-physiological and cognitive mechanisms responsible for IAD. Neuropsychological test studies have contributed significantly to our understanding of the effect of IAD on the cognitive function. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether Internet addictive individuals share impulsivity and executive dysfunction with alcohol-dependent individuals. Participants include 22 Internet addictive individuals, 22 patients with alcohol dependence (AD), and 22 normal controls (NC). All participants were measured with BIS-11, go/no-go task, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, and Digit span task under the same experimental condition. Results showed that Barratt impulsiveness scale 11 scores, false alarm rate, the total response errors, perseverative errors, failure to maintain set of IAD and AD group were significantly higher than that of NC group, and hit rate, percentage of conceptual level responses, the number of categories completed, forwards scores, and backwards scores of IAD and AD group were significantly lower than that of NC group, however, no differences in above variables between IAD group and AD group were observed. These results revealed that the existence of impulsivity, deficiencies in executive function and working memory in an IAD and an AD sample, namely, Internet addictive individuals share impulsivity and executive dysfunction with alcohol-dependent patients.

Relationship on personality characteristics and event related potential P300 with internet addiction disorder of youngsters

Objective To explore the relation between personality characteristics and event related potential P300 with internet addiction disorder(IAD) of youngsters. Methods Eysenck Personality Questionnaire and event related potential test were used for forty-two IAD and forty non-IAD in youngsters , and the results were compared between the two groups. Results The latency of N2, P3((267.2±24.2)ms, (374.5±22.0)ms) of event related potential in IAD group were significantly longer and the amplitude of P3((3.9±2.5)μV) was significantly lower than those in non-IAD group((235.7±21.8) ms, (332.3±23.5)ms, (7.8±2.4)μV)(P<0.01). And the indexes of P, N score (56.2±9.4, 49.8±7.4) of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire were significant higher than those in non-IAD group(51.9±9.7, 42.4±7.5)(P<0.01), but the indexes of E, L score (45.7±9.0, 44.3±7.9)of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire were significant lower than those in non-IAD group(51.2±9.4, 50.9±8.3)(P<0.01). Correlation analysis showed that there were remarkable positive correlation with latency of P300 and P, N score of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire respectively in IAD group(r=0.49, 0.54, P<0.01), and a significant negative correlation with E, L score(r=-0.43, -0.46, P<0.01), there was a remarkable negative correlation with amplitude of P300 and P, N score of Eysenck Personality Questionnaire respectively in IAD group(r=-0.41, -0.50, P<0.01), and a significant positive correlation with E, L score(r=0.45, 0.47, P<0.01). Conclusion IAD in youngsters has personality characteristics and cognitive dysfunction, and it has a relation with personality and event related potential P300. Key words: Youngsters; Internet addiction disorder; Personality; Event related potential

Clinical characteristics and diagnostic confirmation of Internet addiction in secondary school students in Wuhan, China.

This study investigated the clinical characteristics of internet addiction using a cross-sectional survey and psychiatric interview. A structured questionnaire consisted of demographics, Symptom Checklist 90, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, Self-Rating Depression Scale, and Young's Internet Addiction Test (YIAT) was administered to students of two secondary schools in Wuhan, China. Students with a score of 5 or higher on the YIAT were classified as having Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD). Two psychiatrists interviewed students with IAD to confirm the diagnosis and evaluate their clinical characteristics. Of a total of 1076 respondents (mean age 15.4 ± 1.7 years; 54.1% boys), 12.6% (n = 136) met the YIAT criteria for IAD. Clinical interviews ascertained the Internet addiction of 136 pupils and also identified 20 students (14.7% of IAD group) with comorbid psychiatric disorders. Results from multinomial logistic regression indicated that being male, in grade 7-9, poor relationship between parents and higher self-reported depression scores were significantly associated with the diagnosis of IAD. These results advance our understanding of the clinical characteristics of Internet addiction in Chinese secondary school students and may help clinicians, teachers, and other stakeholders better manage this increasingly serious mental condition.

Comparison of Psychological Symptoms and Serum Levels of Neurotransmitters in Shanghai Adolescents with and without Internet Addiction Disorder: A Case-Control Study

BackgroundInternet addiction disorder (IAD) is now recognized internationally and is known to be linked with academic and social impairment. To date, we know little about its associated main biological factors. This study aimed to collect a carefully defined group of adolescents with IAD and an age- and gender-matched typically developing comparison group. We hypothesized that the young people with IAD would have higher rates of self-reported anxiety and depressive symptoms, have altered levels of peripheral blood dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin. In addition, we hypothesized the hours spent online are correlated with the severity of depression and anxiety among these young people with IAD.Methodology/Principal FindingA cross-sectional study of 20 adolescents who met Beard’s criteria for IAD and 15 typically developing adolescents (comparison group) was conducted. All the participants completed the Self Rating Depression Scale (SDS), Self Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED). Peripheral blood dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine were assayed. The mean level of norepinephrine was lower in the IAD group than that in the typically developing participants, while dopamine and serotonin levels did not differ. The SDS, SAS and SCARED symptom scores were increased in the adolescents with IAD. A logistic regression analysis revealed that a higher SAS score and lower level of norepinephrine independently predicted IAD group membership. There was no significant correlation between hours spent online and scores of SAS/SDS in IAD group.Conclusions/SignificanceIncreased self-reported anxiety and lower peripheral blood norepinephrine are independently associated with IAD.

An error-related negativity potential investigation of response monitoring function in individuals with internet addiction disorder.

Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is an impulse disorder or at least related to impulse control disorder. Deficits in executive functioning, including response monitoring, have been proposed as a hallmark feature of impulse control disorders. The error-related negativity (ERN) reflects individual’s ability to monitor behavior. Since IAD belongs to a compulsive-impulsive spectrum disorder, theoretically, it should present response monitoring functional deficit characteristics of some disorders, such as substance dependence, ADHD, or alcohol abuse, testing with an Erikson flanker task. Up to now, no studies on response monitoring functional deficit in IAD were reported. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether IAD displays response monitoring functional deficit characteristics in a modified Erikson flanker task. Twenty-three subjects were recruited as IAD group. Twenty-three matched age, gender, and education healthy persons were recruited as control group. All participants completed the modified Erikson flanker task while measured with event-related potentials. IAD group made more total error rates than did controls (p < 0.01); Reactive times for total error responses in IAD group were shorter than did controls (p < 0.01). The mean ERN amplitudes of total error response conditions at frontal electrode sites and at central electrode sites of IAD group were reduced compared with control group (all p < 0.01). These results revealed that IAD displays response monitoring functional deficit characteristics and shares ERN characteristics of compulsive-impulsive spectrum disorder.

Abnormal White Matter Integrity in Adolescents with Internet Addiction Disorder: A Tract-Based Spatial Statistics Study

BackgroundInternet addiction disorder (IAD) is currently becoming a serious mental health issue around the globe. Previous studies regarding IAD were mainly focused on associated psychological examinations. However, there are few studies on brain structure and function about IAD. In this study, we used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate white matter integrity in adolescents with IAD.Methodology/Principal FindingsSeventeen IAD subjects and sixteen healthy controls without IAD participated in this study. Whole brain voxel-wise analysis of fractional anisotropy (FA) was performed by tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) to localize abnormal white matter regions between groups. TBSS demonstrated that IAD had significantly lower FA than controls throughout the brain, including the orbito-frontal white matter, corpus callosum, cingulum, inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, and corona radiation, internal and external capsules, while exhibiting no areas of higher FA. Volume-of-interest (VOI) analysis was used to detect changes of diffusivity indices in the regions showing FA abnormalities. In most VOIs, FA reductions were caused by an increase in radial diffusivity while no changes in axial diffusivity. Correlation analysis was performed to assess the relationship between FA and behavioral measures within the IAD group. Significantly negative correlations were found between FA values in the left genu of the corpus callosum and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders, and between FA values in the left external capsule and the Young's Internet addiction scale.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that IAD demonstrated widespread reductions of FA in major white matter pathways and such abnormal white matter structure may be linked to some behavioral impairments. In addition, white matter integrity may serve as a potential new treatment target and FA may be as a qualified biomarker to understand the underlying neural mechanisms of injury or to assess the effectiveness of specific early interventions in IAD.

Impulse inhibition in people with Internet addiction disorder: Electrophysiological evidence from a Go/NoGo study

We investigated response inhibition in people with Internet addiction disorder (IAD) by recording event-related brain potentials during a Go/NoGo task. Twelve IAD-afflicted and 12 normal university students participated in the study. Results show that the IAD group exhibited lower NoGo-N2 amplitude, higher NoGo-P3 amplitude, and longer NoGo-P3 peak latency than the normal group. The results also suggest that the IAD students had lower activation in the conflict detection stage than the normal group; thus, they had to engage in more cognitive endeavors to complete the inhibition task in the late stage. In addition, the IAD students showed less efficiency in information processing and lower impulse control than their normal peers.

A study on inclination of adolescents with internet addiction disorder and social psychic factors

Objective To study the characters of the personality,parents' personality, parental child-rearing style and adolescence with internet addiction disorder(IAD), and to investigate the influencing factors of personality of adolescence with IAD for understanding its pathology mechanism. Methods 1. Adopting control case study to test 64 IAD children and 56 health control children with Kimberly Young Internet Addiction Inventory ;Eysenck Personality Questionnaire(EPQ), EMBU( Own Memories of Parental Rearing Experiences in childhood) ;2. Differences between the IAD and control groups were investigated with two-sample independent t test. 3. All analyses were conducted using the SPSS statistical package ( version 11.5 ). Results In EMBU, the scores of parents' rejection,denial,punishment in IAD group were significantly higher than that of control group( P<0.01 ),the scores of mother's emotional warmth were lower than that of controls( P < 0.05 ). In EPQ,the scores on psychoticism, neuroticism of IAD patients were much higher than that of controls ( P < 0.01 ), the scores of extraversion were lower than controls(P<0.05) ; the scores of mother's neuroticism in IAD group were much higher than that of control group ( P < 0.01 ). Conclusions The IAD patients had the special personality character. The personality of mothers with IAD child was abnormal,which had more influence on IAD patients' personality characters. Key words: Internet addiction disorder; Adolescents; Personality character; Parental child-rearing style

The stress intermediary variable's feature of internet addiction disorder adolescent

Objective Base on the stress theory, try to find out the possible inducing factors of adolescent internet addiction disorder (IAD) by study on the intermediary variable of stress, namely social support, coping style, cognitive evaluation and personality. It will provide scientific guidance for future treatment and prevention of internet addition by clarified the intermediary variables' feature of adolescent IAD. Methods During June to October 2007,129 internet addiction disorder adolescents, 129 non-internet addiction disorder adolescents, and 129 non-internet adolescents were investigated with general questionnaire, Chen Internet Addiction Scale(CIAS), Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Check-list (ASLEC), Eysenck personality questionnaire (EPQ), Coping style questionnaire(CSQ), Perceived social support scale (PSSS), the automatic thoughts questionnaire (ATQ). Results (1)Personality: there was significant difference on P, N and L scores within three groups ( F = 7.228～12.373, P< 0.01 ). (2)Automatic thoughts: there was significant difference on automatic thoughts scores within three groups( F = 12.208, P < 0.01 ). (3)Coping style : there was significant difference on self-blame, fantasy, retreat, and rationalization within three groups ( F=-0.620～1.643, P < 0.01 ). (4)Perceived social support (PSSS) : there was significant difference on PSSS among IAD group, non-IAD group, and non-IT group ( F=every stress intermediary variable between sexes. Key words: Adolescent; Internet addiction disorder; Stress