Decision-Making and Prepotent Response Inhibition Functions in Excessive Internet Users

Abstract

Introduction: Excessive Internet use (EIU), also described as Internet addiction or pathological Internet use, has already become a serious social problem around the world. Some researchers consider EIU as a kind of behavioral addiction. However, there are few experimental studies on the cognitive functions of excessive Internet users (EIUers) and limited data are available to compare EIU with other addictive behaviors, such as drug abuse and pathological gambling.Methods: In this study, we examined EIUers' functions of decision-making and prepotent response inhibition. Two groups of participants, EIUers and controls, were compared on these two functions by using a Gambling Task and a Go/no-go Task, respectively.Results: Compared with controls, EIUers selected significantly less net decks in the Gambling Task (P =.007). Furthermore, the EIUers made progress in selecting strategy, but more slowly than did the control group (EIUers, chunk 3 > chunk 1, P<.001; controls, chunk 2 > chunk P<.001; controls, chunk 2 > chunk 1, P<.001). Interestingly, EIUers' accuracy during the no-go condition was significantly higher than that of controls (P=.018).Conclusion: These results showed some similarities and dissimilarities between EIU and other addictive behaviors such as drug abuse and pathological gambling. The findings from the Gambling Task indicated that EIUers have deficits in decision-making function, which are characterized by a strategy learning lag rather than an inability to learn from task contingencies. EIUers' better performance in the Go/no-go Task suggested some dissociation between mechanisms of decision-making and those of prepotent response inhibition. However, EIUers could hardly suppress their excessive online behaviors in real life. Their ability of inhibition still needs to be further studied with more specific assessments.

Lise öğrencilerinde internet bağımlılığının DEHB ve tütün/alkol kullanma ile ilişkisi

“…In a study made with adolescents in China, a significant positive correlation was found between IA scores and impulsivity and attention scores (19). In the literature, ADHD is often characterized by increased reward sensitivity, getting bored easily (45), preference for fast changing and quickly response-producing stimuli, orientation towards smaller, short-term rewards rather than long-term rewards, impulsivity (19) and disinhibition (46). It has been suggested that these characteristics are sufficiently catered to by internet use or that self-control deficits intrinsic to ADHD may increase the predisposition for IA (17,45).…”

Internet Addiction or Excessive Internet Use

“…A study using the Iowa Gambling Task found that Internet-addicted individuals have deficits in decision-making function, chiefly a strategy learning lag rather than an inability to learn from task contingencies. They showed better performance on a Go/no-go task, suggesting some dissociation between mechanisms of decisionmaking and those of prepotent response inhibition (55).…”

Problematic Use of the Internet and Self-Regulation: A Review of the Initial Studies

“…Indeed, several studies have shown deficits in inhibitory control in other types of addictions such as substance use disorder [39] and pathological gambling [40]. In this vein, Cao et al, [32] and Sun et al, [41] have compared the performance of Internet addicts (based on the diagnostic criteria proposed by Young) and control participants on prepotent response inhibition. Surprisingly, Cao et al, [32] found Internet addicts to have a lower ability to inhibit a prepotent response than control participants, whereas Sun et al, [41] obtained the opposite result, namely better inhibition performance for the Internet addiction group than for the control participant group.…”

“…In this vein, Cao et al, [32] and Sun et al, [41] have compared the performance of Internet addicts (based on the diagnostic criteria proposed by Young) and control participants on prepotent response inhibition. Surprisingly, Cao et al, [32] found Internet addicts to have a lower ability to inhibit a prepotent response than control participants, whereas Sun et al, [41] obtained the opposite result, namely better inhibition performance for the Internet addiction group than for the control participant group. These contradictory results could possibly be attributed to the fact that the two studies did not use the same laboratory task to assess prepotent response inhibition.…”

“…These contradictory results could possibly be attributed to the fact that the two studies did not use the same laboratory task to assess prepotent response inhibition. Cao et al, [32] used a stopsignal task that seems more suited for assessing controlled or executive inhibition than the go / no-go task used by Sun et al, [41], which has been shown to rely more on automatic subcortical processes (see [42] for the differences between these two inhibitory tasks). Further research remains necessary to clarify the relationships between prepotent response inhibition and PIU (e.g., by using laboratory tasks involving Internet-related cues and not only neutral stimuli).…”