Subregion-specific insular dysconnectivity in internet gaming disorder: From macroscale network abnormalities to...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Genetics

Background:

• The insular cortex is crucial for interoception and salience processing.
• Subregion-specific circuit abnormalities and molecular links in Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate subregion-specific functional connectivity (FC) abnormalities in the insular cortex of individuals with IGD.
• Explore the molecular correlates of these abnormalities using imaging transcriptomics.
• Relate findings to the triple network model and identify potential intervention targets.

Main Methods:

• Resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) data from 71 IGD patients and 80 healthy controls.
• Seed-based FC analyses across six bilateral insular subregions.
• Allen Human Brain Atlas (AHBA)-based imaging transcriptomics.

Main Results:

• IGD patients exhibited altered FC in the dorsal anterior insula (dAI) and posterior insula.
• Right dAI-paracingulate FC correlated positively with symptom severity.
• Transcriptomic analysis revealed gene enrichment in neuronal signaling, metabolism, neurodevelopment, and plasticity, particularly during key developmental windows.

Conclusions:

• Dissociable, subregion-specific insular circuit abnormalities are present in IGD.
• Findings link macroscale dysconnectivity to molecular and cellular substrates.
• Identified potential circuit-to-cellular targets for intervention in behavioral addiction.