The Application Of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging In Evaluating Specific Neuroimaging Abnormalities In Adolescents With Internet Gaming Addiction

Part I: Altered Default Network Resting-State FunctionalConnectivity inAdolescents with Internet GamingAddiction: an fMRI studyObject: This study usedresting-state functional magnetic resonanceimaging (fMRI) to investigate whether functional connectivity is alteredinadolescents with Internet gaming addiction (IGA).Method: Seventeen adolescents with IGA and24normal controladolescents underwent a resting-state fMRIscan. Posterior cingulate cortex(PCC) connectivity was determined in all subjects by investigatingsynchronized lowfrequency fMRI signal fluctuations using a temporalcorrelation method. To assess the relationship between IGA symptomseverityand PCC connectivity, contrast images representing areas correlated withPCC connectivity were correlated with thescores of the17subjects with IGA on the Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS) and Barratt ImpulsivenessScale-11(BIS-11) and their hours of Internet use per week.Result: There were no significant differences in the distributions of the age,gender, and years of education between thetwo groups. The subjects withIGA showed longer Internet use per week (hours)(P＜0.0001) and higherCIAS (P＜0.0001)and BIS-11(p=0.01) scores than the controls. Comparedwith the control group, subjects with IGA exhibited increasedfunctionalconnectivity in the bilateral cerebellum posterior lobe and middle temporalgyrus. The bilateral inferior parietallobule and right inferior temporal gyrusexhibited decreased connectivity. Connectivity with the PCC waspositivelycorrelated with CIAS scores in the right precuneus, posteriorcingulate gyrus, thalamus, caudate, nucleus accumbens, supplementary motorarea, and lingual gyrus. It was negatively correlated with the right cerebellumanterior lobe and leftsuperior parietal lobule.Conclusion: Our results suggest that adolescents with IGA exhibitdifferent resting-state patterns of brain activity. As thesealterations arepartially consistent with those in patients with substance addiction, theysupport the hypothesis that IGA as abehavioral addiction that may sharesimilar neurobiological abnormalities with other addictive disorders. Objective: In this study,we used functional magnetic resonance imaging（fMRI） to explore the changes of reward system in adolescents withinternet gaming addiction（IGA）.Methods: Seventeen subjects with IGA and seventeen healthy controlswere arranged to performance the probabilistic guessing task underinvestigation of fMRIs. The brain response of their guessing task wasassessed by event-related design of fMRI. The Statistical parametric mapping(SPM8) was used for data processing and brain activity location. Thedifference of brain activities and reaction time（RT） between two groupswere analyzed.Results: In win condition, the right anterior cingulated cortex, the rightfrontal lobe medial orbital cortex and the left temporal pole werehyper-activated in the IGA group than those in the healthy controls. In losecondition, the left temporal pole was hyper-activated, while the right lingual,the right brainstem were hypo-activated in the IGA group than those in thehealthy controls.Furthermore, no matter win or lose, the RT of IGA group were significantly shorter compared to the healthy controls.Conclusion: Adolescents with IGA are more likely to show highpreferences for the present reward but neglect the long-term adverseconsequences, which may attribute to their abnormal reward systemenhancedreward sensitivity and decreased loss sensitivity than normal comparisons. Object: To explore the changes in brain functions that response to impulsecontrol impairments inadolescents with Internet gaming addiction.Method: Seventeen adolescents with IGA and seventeen healthy controlswere scanned during performance of a response-inhibition Go/No-Go taskusing a3.0T MRI scanner. The Statistical parametric mapping (SPM8) wasused for data processing and brain activity location. The difference of brainactivities and behavioral performances between two groups was analyzed. Further, the relation analysis between the abnormal brain regions andbehavioral performance was conducted.Result: There were no differences in the behavioral performance on theGo/No-Go task between the groups. However, the IGA group wassignificantly hyperactive during No-Go trials in the left superior medialfrontal gyrus, right anterior cingulate cortex, right superior/middle frontalgyrus, left inferior parietal lobule, left precentral gyrus, and the left precuneusand cuneus. Further, the bilateral middle temporal gyrus, bilateral inferiortemporal gyrus, and right superior parietal lobule were significantlyhypoactive during No-Go trials. Activation of the left superior medial frontalgyrus and right superior/middle frontal gyrus was positively associated withBIS-11and Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS) total score across IGAparticipants.Conclusion: These data suggest that the prefrontal cortex may be involvedin the circuit modulating impulsivity, while its impaired function may relateto high impulsivity in adolescents with IGA, which may contribute directly tothe internet addiction process.