No abstract

The present study investigated the influence on Internet addiction of numerous variables ranging from personality to psychological and physical well-being, in a large and highly ecologically valid sample of mainly male adolescent online computer gamers (first-person-shooter video gamers) in Germany. Low Self-Directedness could be linked to a high Internet Addiction Test score in the present study, and the data yielded a continuum model indicating that low Self-Directedness is highly correlated with Internet Addiction Score, not only in students but also in first-person-shooter video gamers.

HESX1 is a paired-like homeodomain transcription factor that functions as a repressor of PROP1-mediated gene stimulation. Mutations in HESX1 have been implicated in cases of septooptic dysplasia and congenital hypopituitarism. All mutations in HESX1 identified to date have resulted in impaired DNA binding and defective HESX1 action. We have identified a novel HESX1 mutation in genomic nucleotide position 1684 (g.1684delG), which results in a mutant protein with increased DNA binding. In turn, this mutation causes increased repression of PROP1-dependent gene activity. These data suggest that enhancement of transcriptional repression during pituitary organogenesis is a novel mechanism for the development of congenital pituitary disorders.