Alterations in functional networks during cue-reactivity in Internet gaming disorder

Ma, Shan-Shan and Worhunsky, Patrick D. and Xu, Jian-song and Yip, Sarah W. and Zhou, Nan and Zhang, Jin-Tao and Liu, Lu and Wang, Ling-Jiao and Liu, Ben and Yao, Yuan-Wei and Zhang, Sheng and Fang, Xiao-Yi (2019) Alterations in functional networks during cue-reactivity in Internet gaming disorder. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 8 (2). pp. 277-287. ISSN 2062-5871 (print); 2063-5303 (online)

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Abstract

Background: Cue-induced brain reactivity has been suggested to be a fundamental and important mechanism explaining the development, maintenance, and relapse of addiction, including Internet gaming disorder (IGD). Altered activity in addiction-related brain regions has been found during cue-reactivity in IGD using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), but less is known regarding the alterations of coordinated whole brain activity patterns in IGD. Methods: To investigate the activity of temporally coherent, large-scale functional brain networks (FNs) during cue-reactivity in IGD, independent component analysis was applied to fMRI data from 29 male subjects with IGD and 23 matched healthy controls (HC) performing a cue-reactivity task involving Internet gaming stimuli (i.e., game cues) and general Internet surfing-related stimuli (i.e., control cues). Results: Four FNs were identified that were related to the response to game cues relative to control cues and that showed altered engagement/disengagement in IGD compared with HC. These FNs included temporo-occipital and temporo-insula networks associated with sensory processing, a frontoparietal network involved in memory and executive functioning, and a dorsal-limbic network implicated in reward and motivation processing. Within IGD, game versus control engagement of the temporo-occipital and frontoparietal networks were positively correlated with IGD severity. Similarly, disengagement of temporo-insula network was negatively correlated with higher game-craving. Discussion: These findings are consistent with altered cue-reactivity brain regions reported in substance-related addictions, providing evidence that IGD may represent a type of addiction. The identification of the networks might shed light on the mechanisms of the cue-induced craving and addictive Internet gaming behaviors.

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