Dieter Julia, Hill Holger, Sell Madlen, Reinhard Iris, Vollstädt-Klein Sabine, Kiefer Falk, Mann Karl, Leménager Tagrid
Department of Addictive Behaviour and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University.
Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
Behav Neurosci. 2015 Feb;129(1):8-17. doi: 10.1037/bne0000025. Epub 2014 Nov 24.
Psychometric studies suggest that observed self-concept deficits in addicted massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) are compensated through the replacement of their ideal (i.e., how an individual would like to be) by their own avatar (i.e., graphical agent in the virtual world). Neurobiological studies indicate that increased identification with their own avatar in regular MMORPG gamers is possibly reflected by enhanced avatar-referential brain activation in the left angular gyrus (AG). However, the neurobiological correlates reflecting the relations of the avatar to addicted gamers' self and ideal are still unexplored. Therefore, we compare these relations between addicted and nonaddicted MMORPG gamers. A sample of n = 15 addicted and n = 17 nonaddicted players underwent functional MRI (fMRI) while completing a Giessen-Test (GT)-derived paradigm assessing self-, ideal-, and avatar-related self-concept domains. Neurobiological analyses included the comparisons avatar versus self, avatar versus ideal, and avatar versus self, ideal. Psychometrically, addicts showed significantly lower scores on the self-concept subscale of 'social resonance,' that is, social popularity. In all avatar-related contrasts, within-group comparisons showed addicted players to exhibit significantly higher brain activations in the left AG. The between-groups comparisons revealed avatar-related left AG hyperactivations in addicts. Our results may suggest that addicted MMORPG players identify significantly more with their avatar than nonaddicted gamers. The concrete avatar might increasingly replace the rather abstract ideal in the transition from normal- controlled to addictive-compulsive MMORPG usage.
心理测量学研究表明，在成瘾的大型多人在线角色扮演游戏（MMORPG）中观察到的自我概念缺陷，通过用自己的虚拟形象（即虚拟世界中的图形代理）取代他们的理想自我（即个体希望成为的样子）而得到补偿。神经生物学研究表明，在普通MMORPG玩家中，对自己虚拟形象的认同感增加，可能表现为左侧角回（AG）中与虚拟形象相关的大脑激活增强。然而，反映虚拟形象与成瘾玩家的自我及理想自我之间关系的神经生物学关联仍未得到探索。因此，我们比较了成瘾和非成瘾MMORPG玩家之间的这些关系。15名成瘾玩家和17名非成瘾玩家组成的样本在完成一项基于吉森测试（GT）的范式时接受了功能磁共振成像（fMRI），该范式评估了与自我、理想自我和虚拟形象相关的自我概念领域。神经生物学分析包括虚拟形象与自我、虚拟形象与理想自我以及虚拟形象与自我、理想自我之间的比较。从心理测量学角度来看，成瘾者在“社会共鸣”的自我概念子量表上得分显著较低，即社会受欢迎程度。在所有与虚拟形象相关的对比中，组内比较显示成瘾玩家在左侧AG区域表现出显著更高的大脑激活。组间比较显示成瘾者在与虚拟形象相关的左侧AG区域存在过度激活。我们的结果可能表明，成瘾的MMORPG玩家比非成瘾玩家对自己的虚拟形象认同感显著更高。在从正常控制的MMORPG使用过渡到成瘾强迫性使用的过程中，具体的虚拟形象可能会越来越多地取代相当抽象的理想自我。
