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. 2022 Apr 7;11(2):492-505.
doi: 10.1556/2006.2022.00017. Online ahead of print.

Prefrontal cortical activation in Internet Gaming Disorder Scale high scorers during actual real-time internet gaming: A preliminary study using fNIRS

Tae Hun Cho  1 , Yoonjin Nah  1 , Soo Hyun Park  1 , Sanghoon Han  1
Affiliations

Prefrontal cortical activation in Internet Gaming Disorder Scale high scorers during actual real-time internet gaming: A preliminary study using fNIRS

Tae Hun Cho et al. J Behav Addict. .

Abstract

Background: Observation of real-time neural characteristics during gameplay would provide distinct evidence for discriminating the currently controversial diagnosis of internet gaming disorder (IGD), and elucidate neural mechanisms that may be involved in addiction. We aimed to provide preliminary findings on possible neural features of IGD during real-time internet gaming using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

Methods: Prefrontal cortical activations accompanying positive and negative in-game events were investigated. Positive events: (1) participant's champion slays or assists in slaying an opponent without being slain. (2) the opposing team's nexus is destroyed. Negative events: (1) participant's champion is slain without slaying or assisting in slaying any opponent. (2) the team's nexus is destroyed. Collected data were compared between the IGD group and control group, each with 15 participants.

Results: The IGD group scored significantly higher than the CTRL group on the craving scale. Following positive events, the IGD group displayed significantly stronger activation in the DLPFC. Following negative events, the IGD group displayed significantly weaker activation in the lateral OFC.

Discussion and conclusions: Individuals scoring high on the IGD scale may crave for more internet gaming after encountering desired events during the game. Such observations are supported by the correlation between the craving scale and DLPFC activation. The IGD group may also show diminished punishment sensitivity to negative in-game experiences rendering them to continue playing the game. The present study provides preliminary evidence that IGD may demonstrate neural characteristics observed in other addictive disorders and suggests the use of fNIRS in behavioral addiction studies.

Keywords: addiction; dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; fNIRS; internet gaming disorder; orbitofrontal cortex; real-time internet gaming.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Schematic position of fNIRS channels Adapted from “Mutual interaction between genders with stress or non-stress by positive stimulus characteristics using fNIRS,” by S. Bak, J. Jeongand J. Shin, 2021, 9th International Winter Conference on Brain-Computer Interface (BCI), p. 2. Copyright 2021 by IEEE. Adapted with permission.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Group average HbO (top) and HbR (bottom) response time series of all channels to positive (left) and negative events (right) The concentration trends show the overall response to the events in the game.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Group average HbO (left) and HbR (right) response time series of each channel to positive events Note. The red line indicates the response of the IGD group, while the blue line indicates the response of the CTRL group. Significant results are marked with formula image.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Group average HbO (left) and HbR (right) response time series of each channel to negative events Note. The red line indicates the response of the IGD group, while the blue line indicates the response of the CTRL group. Significant results are marked with formula image.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.
HbO (left) and HbR (right) t-maps (IGD group – CTRL group) in response to positive (top) and negative (bottom) events
Fig. 6.
Fig. 6.
Regions showing significantly stronger/weaker activation in the IGD group following in-game events
Fig. 7.
Fig. 7.
Linear regression between the HbO activation of Ch3(DLPFC) and craving
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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