Neurophysiology of Gambling Behavior and Internet Use Vulnerability: A Comparison Between Behavioral and EEG Measures

The present research explored electrophysiological activity (EEG) related to problematic internet use (PIU) vulnerability in a nonclinical population. Vulnerability to PIU was assessed through internet addiction test (IAT) in a sample of 23 participants. Moreover, they underwent a behavioral Iowa gambling task (IGT) for testing decision-making functioning and N2 event-related potentials (ERPs) component was monitored during an attentional inhibitory Go/NoGo task performance with addiction-related background pictures (videogames, online gambling, and neutral stimuli). IAT measure positively correlated with both IGT index and N2 variation at the Go/NoGo task. High-IAT young participants showed specific responses to internet addiction-related cues (pictures representing online gambling) in terms of ERPs amplitude of N2pc for Go trials in Pz. Findings suggested an early attentional facilitation effect for specific addiction-related stimuli, online gambling-related stimuli, suggesting a selective attention bias for salient stimuli in this population. While higher levels of IAT do not seem to correspond to a deficit in decision-making abilities, the selective attention mechanisms show to be partially biased in response to the salience of external cues.