Background

Previous studies have shown that gaming-related cues could induce gaming cravings and bring about changes in brain activities in subjects with Internet gaming disorder (IGD). However, little is known about the brain network organizations in IGD subjects during a cue-craving task and the relationship between this network organization and IGD severity.

Methods

Sixty-one IGD subjects and 61 matched recreational game users (RGUs) were scanned while performing a cue-craving task. We calculated and compared the participation coefficient (PC) among brain network modules between IGD subjects and RGUs. Based on the results, further group comparison analyses were performed to explain the PC changes and to explore the relationship between PCs and IGD severity.

Results

While performing a cue-craving task, compared with RGUs, IGD subjects showed significantly decreased PCs in the default-mode network (DMN) and the frontal-parietal network (FPN). Specifically, the number of connections between nodes in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, posterior cingulate cortex and other nodes in the DMN of IGD subjects was much larger than that in RGUs. Correlation results showed that the number of DMN intra-modular connections was positively correlated with addiction severity and craving degree.

Conclusions

These results provide neural evidence that can explain why cognitive control, emotion, attention and other functions are impaired in IGD subjects in the face of gaming cues, which leads to compulsive behavior toward games. These findings extend our understanding of the neural mechanism of IGD and have important implications for developing effective interventions to treat IGD subjects.

中文翻译：

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在提示渴望任务期间改变的大脑网络模块化隔离导致网络游戏障碍中的执行功能中断

背景

先前的研究表明，与游戏相关的线索可能会引发对游戏的渴望，并导致网络游戏障碍 (IGD) 受试者的大脑活动发生变化。然而，对于线索渴望任务期间 IGD 受试者的大脑网络组织以及该网络组织与 IGD 严重程度之间的关系知之甚少。

方法

61 名 IGD 受试者和 61 名匹配的休闲游戏用户 (RGU) 在执行提示渴望任务时被扫描。我们计算并比较了 IGD 受试者和 RGU 之间脑网络模块之间的参与系数 (PC)。根据结果​​，进行了进一步的组比较分析以解释 PC 变化并探索 PC 与 IGD 严重程度之间的关系。

结果

在执行提示渴望任务时，与 RGU 相比，IGD 受试者在默认模式网络 (DMN) 和额顶网络 (FPN) 中的 PC 显着减少。具体而言，IGD受试者DMN中腹内侧前额叶皮层、前扣带皮层、后扣带皮层等节点之间的连接数量远大于RGU。相关结果表明，DMN 模块内连接的数量与成瘾严重程度和渴望程度呈正相关。

结论

这些结果提供了神经证据，可以解释为什么 IGD 受试者在面对游戏线索时认知控制、情绪、注意力和其他功能受损，从而导致对游戏的强迫行为。这些发现扩展了我们对 IGD 神经机制的理解，并对开发治疗 IGD 受试者的有效干预措施具有重要意义。