The alteration of gray matter volume and cognitive control in adolescents with internet gaming disorder

Abstract

Objective: Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has been investigated by many behavioral and neuroimaging studies, for it has became one of the main behavior disorders among adolescents. However, few studies focused on the relationship between alteration of gray matter volume (GMV) and cognitive control feature in IGD adolescents.Methods: Twenty-eight participants with IAD and twenty-eight healthy age and gender matched controls participated in the study. Brain morphology of adolescents with IGD and healthy controls was investigated using an optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM) technique. Cognitive control performances were measured by Stroop task, and correlation analysis was performed between brain structural change and behavioral performance in IGD group.Results: The results showed that GMV of the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), precuneus, supplementary motor area (SMA), superior parietal cortex, left dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), left insula, and bilateral cerebellum decreased in the IGD participants compared with healthy controls. Moreover, GMV of the ACC was negatively correlated with the incongruent response errors of Stroop task in IGD group.Conclusion: Our results suggest that the alteration of GMV is associated with the performance change of cognitive control in adolescents with IGD, which indicating substantial brain image effects induced by IGD.

Internet Gaming Disorder in the DSM-5

“…Voxel-based morphometric studies demonstrate decreased gray matter in persons with IGD relative to controls in the inferior frontal lobe [41][42][43], insula [41,42], cingulate [41,43,44], dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) [43], precuneus [41,44], supplement motor area [42][43][44], amygdala [45••], and occipital lobe [46]. These brain areas are involved in cognitive control, error processing, decision-making, and reward.…”

Cortical thickness and volume abnormalities in Internet gaming disorder: Evidence from comparison of recreational Internet game users

“…Wang et al. () also detected decreased GMV in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), precuneus, supplementary motor area (SMA), superior parietal cortex, left dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), left insula, and bilateral cerebellum atrophy in IGD subjects compared with the healthy controls. Weng et al.…”

“…Lin, Dong, Wang, and Du (2015) determined that individuals with IGD showed lower gray matter density (GMD) in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, left cingulate gyrus, insula, right precuneus, and right hippocampus than the healthy controls. Wang et al (2015) also detected decreased GMV in the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), precuneus, supplementary motor area (SMA), superior parietal cortex, left dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), left insula, and bilateral cerebellum atrophy in IGD subjects compared with the healthy controls. Weng et al (2013) reported decreased GMV in IGD subjects in the right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), bilateral insula, and right SMA.…”

Compulsive sexual behavior: Prefrontal and limbic volume and interactions

“…One small study in internet addiction showed lower cortical thickness in the OFC [Hong et al, 2013], with another reporting lower volume in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) [Yuan et al, 2011] and two studies suggesting lower ACC volumes [Yuan et al, 2011;Zhou et al, 2011]. Two small studies in internet gaming disorders reported decreased volumes in OFC [Weng et al, 2013;Yuan et al, 2013], and two larger studies reported smaller volumes in cingulate cortex [Lin et al, 2014;Wang et al, 2015] with single studies reporting decreases in DLPFC , inferior frontal [Lin et al, 2014], superior parietal and inferior parietal [Yuan et al, 2013] cortices. With respect to subcortical structures, one small study reported higher ventral striatal (VS) volumes in gambling disorder [Koehler et al, 2013] with no subcortical differences reported in the other studies.…”