Gender-related differences in cue-elicited cravings in Internet gaming disorder: The effects of deprivation

Abstract

BackgroundOnline gaming has become a popular leisure activity, in which males more frequently develop Internet gaming disorder (IGD) compared to females. However, gender-related neurocognitive differences have largely not been systematically investigated in IGD.MethodsCue-elicited-craving tasks were performed before game playing and immediately after deprivation operationalized as a forced break from gaming when the Internet was disconnected. Ninety-nine subjects with IGD (27 males and 22 females) or recreational game use (RGU; 27 males and 23 females) provided functional MRI and subjective data. Analyses investigating effects of group (IGD and RGU) × gender (male and female) at different times (pre-gaming, post-gaming, and post–pre) on cue-elicited craving and brain responses were performed. Correlations between brain responses and subjective measures were calculated.ResultsIn pre-, post-, and post–pre tests, significant gender-by-group interactions (p < .001, cluster size > 15 voxels) were observed in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Further analyses of the DLPFC cluster showed that in post–pre comparisons, results were related to less engagement of the DLPFC in IGD, especially in females. In addition, at post-test, significant interactions were observed in the caudate, as females with IGD showed greater activation as compared to those with RGU.DiscussionThe results raise the possibility that women with RGU may show better executive control than men when facing gaming cues, which may provide resiliency against developing IGD; however, once they develop IGD, their gaming may impair their executive control and enhance their cravings for gaming, which may make it more difficult to quit gaming.

Prevalence and associated factors of internet gaming disorder among secondary school students in rural community, Thailand: a cross-sectional study

“…Being male was significantly associated with internet gaming disorder. Women may show better executive control than men when facing gaming cues, which may provide resiliency against developing IGD [16]. Another study identified the differences of the brain in men and women with IGD [17].…”

Functional neural changes and altered cortical–subcortical connectivity associated with recovery from Internet gaming disorder

“…Second, most study subjects were male (only five females). As such, future studies should examine the extent to which the findings may apply to female populations, especially as gender-related differences have been observed in neural correlates in IGD populations Dong, Wang, Wang, et al, 2019;Dong, Zheng, et al, 2018). Third, although we performed a DCM analysis that suggests that executive control over lentiform activation may improve with recovery, we cannot exclude other possible explanations that should be investigated directly in future studies.…”

A Methodological Checklist for fMRI Drug Cue Reactivity Studies: Development and Expert Consensus

“…Because older adults have been routinely excluded from MRI studies that do not focus on aging, and taking into account shared neurodegenerative impacts of addiction and biological aging (Cheng et al, 2013), there is relatively little known about FDCR in older adults (e.g., > 65-years). In terms of sex/gender, multiple studies have demonstrated sex-/gender-related differences in FDCR, particularly in participants who smoke cigarettes (Francis J. McClernon, Kozink, & Rose, 2008;Wetherill et al, 2013), individuals with cocaine dependence (Joseph et al, 2019;Potenza et al, 2012), and those with gambling (Kober et al, 2016) and gaming Dong, Wang, Wang, Du, & Potenza, 2019;Dong, Zheng, et al, 2018) disorders, which may depend, in part, on menstrual cycle phase in women (T. R. Franklin, Jagannathan, Ketcherside, Spilka, & Wetherill, 2019).…”