Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 20, 2025
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Online Gamers
Published on: November 9, 2019
The unbalanced behavioral activation and inhibition system sensitivity in internet gaming disorder: Evidence from
Haohao Dong1, Hui Zheng2, Min Wang3
1Center for Cognition and Brain Disorders, the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, PR China; Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, PR China.
Background:
Patients with behavioral or substance addiction show an unbalanced behavioral activation system (BAS) and behavioral inhibition system (BIS) sensitivity. However, the relationship between internet gaming disorder (IGD) and BAS/BIS is obscure and the neurobiological mechanism underlying this relationship remains unclear.
Methods:
We recruited 154 IGDs and 229 recreational game users (RGUs) in the current study. First, we explored the relationship between BAS/BIS and IGD. Second, subjects were subdivided into subgroups by BAS/BIS sensitivity. Third, whole-brain Granger causal connectivity (GCC) of striatum and amygdala subdivisions was estimated for the subgroup. Fourth, mediation analysis was performed to explore the role of connectivity in the relationship between IGD and BAS/BIS sensitivity.
Results:
We found the IGD group scored higher than the RGU on BIS and BASf (fun-seeking) sensitivity. Then, we identified 4 (2*2) subgroups: low/high risk of IGD with low/high BAS/BIS sensitivity groups. Two-way ANCOVA main results of interaction effects showed that in the high BAS/BIS group, the RGU exhibited increased strength in the GCC from the left putamen to the right cuneus, and the IGD exhibited decreased strength in the GCC from the right medial frontal gyrus to the caudate, from the left superior frontal gyrus to the centromedial amygdala, and from the right superior parietal lobule to the left laterobasal amygdala. Moreover, the GCC from the centromedial amygdala to the middle frontal gyrus mediated the directional relationship between BIS and IAT (Young's internet addiction test) scores.
Conclusions:
The IGD individuals exhibited higher BIS and BAS-fun seeking sensitivity. Moreover, IGD with unbalanced BAS/BIS sensitivity exhibited alternative connectivity patterns involving amygdala and striatum subdivisions. These findings suggest a neurobiological mechanism for an alternation between IGD and RGU with different BAS/BIS sensitivity.
More Related Videos
13:40Combining Computer Game-Based Behavioural Experiments With High-Density EEG and Infrared Gaze Tracking
Published on: December 16, 2010
09:14Exploring the Neural Correlates of Cognitive Reappraisal in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Using Task-based Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Published on: March 14, 2025