Altered resting-state network connectivity in internet gaming disorder.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Human Computer Interaction

Background:

• Internet gaming's rising popularity has increased both casual and excessive gaming behaviors.
• Understanding how progressive internet gaming engagement alters brain networks is crucial.
• This study investigates connectivity changes across different gaming involvement levels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine functional connectivity (FC) alterations in brain networks related to varying levels of internet gaming.
• To compare brain network connectivity in individuals with Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD), highly engaged gamers (HEG), and lowly engaged gamers (LEG).

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 231 participants classified into IGD, HEG, and LEG groups based on DSM-5 criteria.
• Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from 217 participants were analyzed.
• Independent component analysis was employed to assess intra- and inter-network functional connectivity (FC).

Main Results:

• No significant differences in intra-network FC were found across the three groups.
• Significant inter-network differences were observed between the dorsal attention network (dAN) and visual network (VN).
• The HEG group showed higher dAN-VN functional network connectivity (FNC) than the LEG group, with no correlation to IGD-20T scores.

Conclusions:

• Increasing engagement in IGD is associated with a rise and subsequent decline in dAN-VN FNC.
• This pattern may indicate a shift from top-down attentional regulation to attentional bias as gaming addiction progresses.