Neural substrates of deficient cognitive control in individuals with severe internet gaming disorder

Lingxiao Wang; Guochun Yang; Ya Zheng; Zhenghan Li; Ping Wei; Qi Li; Kesong Hu; Xun Liu

NeuroImage: Clinical (Jan 2021)

Neural substrates of deficient cognitive control in individuals with severe internet gaming disorder

Lingxiao Wang,
Guochun Yang,
Ya Zheng,
Zhenghan Li,
Ping Wei,
Qi Li,
Kesong Hu,
Xun Liu

Affiliations

Lingxiao Wang: Centre for Cognition and Brain disorders, the Affiliated Hospital of Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China; Institute of Psychological Science, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Research in Assessment of Cognitive Impairments, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
Guochun Yang: CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Ya Zheng: Department of Psychology, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, China
Zhenghan Li: CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Ping Wei: Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, Department of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China
Qi Li: Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, Department of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China; Corresponding author at: Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, Department of Psychology, Capital Normal University, No. 105, Third Ring Road, Haidian District, 100048, Beijing, China.
Kesong Hu: Department of Psychology, Lake Superior State University, Sault St. Marie, MI, USA
Xun Liu: CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 32
p. 102828

Abstract

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Background and aims: Internet gaming disorder (IGD) is rapidly becoming a worldwide health concern. The prefrontal-subcortical model of self-regulation emphasizes that an impaired prefrontal cognitive control system and an overwhelming subcortical reward-seeking system are both crucial factors in health problems, including addiction. This study focused on the cognitive control system of IGD, aiming to investigate whether cognitive control is altered and the underlying neural correlates in college students with IGD. Methods: Thirty college students with IGD and twenty-five matched healthy controls were asked to complete a stop-signal task that measures cognitive control while being monitored by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Results: Compared to the controls, only the college students with severe IGD, rather than those with mild IGD, had deficient brain activity involved in inhibitory control and response execution (specifically, the inferior frontal gyrus, anterior cingulate cortex and primary motor cortex); this result implies that cognitive control deficits are closely linked to addiction severity in individuals with IGD. Regarding performance monitoring function, college students with IGD exhibited unabated behavioral and brain activity, as did the control group. Conclusions: Combined with our previous finding that the subcortical reward system was enhanced in individuals with IGD, the present findings extend the prefrontal-subcortical model of self-regulation from the perspective of IGD in a college student population and thus provide useful insight for the effective prevention and treatment of IGD.

Published in NeuroImage: Clinical

ISSN: 2213-1582 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Medicine: Medicine (General): Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics; Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry: Neurology. Diseases of the nervous system
Website: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/neuroimage-clinical/

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