White matter connectivity and Internet gaming disorder

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry

Background:

• Internet use and online gaming activate brain reward pathways.
• Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is a growing concern with potential neurological underpinnings.
• Previous research suggests alterations in brain structure and function in individuals with IGD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate white matter microstructural differences in male subjects with IGD compared to healthy controls using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI).
• To examine the relationship between white matter integrity indices (FA and RD) and clinical variables such as duration of illness and executive function in IGD.
• To explore potential neurobiological mechanisms underlying IGD, such as increased myelination.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 58 male subjects with IGD (without psychiatric co-morbidity) and 26 male healthy controls.
• Acquired multiple diffusion-weighted images using a 3.0 Tesla MRI scanner.
• Applied tract-based spatial statistics to analyze DTI metrics (FA and RD) and compare group differences.

Main Results:

• IGD subjects exhibited increased fractional anisotropy (FA) and decreased radial diffusivity (RD) in several right-sided frontal white matter tracts, including the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus (IFOF).
• FA values positively correlated with the duration of illness in IGD subjects, while RD values showed a negative correlation.
• These findings suggest increased myelination in specific frontal fiber tracts in IGD patients, potentially linked to prolonged gaming exposure.

Conclusions:

• DTI reveals significant white matter microstructural alterations in IGD, characterized by increased FA and decreased RD in frontal pathways.
• The observed changes in white matter integrity are associated with the duration of illness in IGD.
• Increased myelination in right-sided frontal fiber tracts may be a neurobiological consequence of extensive online gaming in individuals with IGD.