Both online and face-to-face mindfulness meditation can change cortical structure in internet gaming disorder

Mindfulness meditation (MM) has been shown to effectively alleviate symptoms of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and improve neural functioning. However, it remains unclear whether both online and face-to-face MM can enhance cortical structure, a stable and reliable neural biomarker.

This study included 100 IGD patients randomly assigned to three groups: face-to-face MM (31 participants), online MM (38 participants), or progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) (31 participants). Pre- and post-assessments were conducted after 8 training sessions. Cortical area, volume, thickness, and local gyrification index (LGI) changes were analyzed using FreeSurfer, with group comparisons and seed-based structural covariance analysis.

Both online and face-to-face MM significantly reduced IGD severity. Structural analysis revealed increased cortical thickness in the superior temporal gyrus (face-to-face + online vs. PMR: t = 4.725, p = 0.014). The face-to-face group also showed significant increases in LGI in the left superior temporal gyrus (t = 6.030, p < 0.001) and right insula (t = 3.792, p = 0.009). All results were correlated with reduced IGD severity. Structural covariance further revealed that MM (face-to-face + online) reduced the covariance between the right superior temporal gyrus and both the default mode and sensory networks.

Both online and face-to-face MM reduce IGD severity and enhance cortical structures, such as the superior temporal and the right insula, highlighting potential neuroanatomical targets for IGD treatment.