Vousooghi Nasim, Zarei Seyed Zeinolabedin, Sadat-Shirazi Mitra-Sadat, Eghbali Fatemeh, Zarrindast Mohammad Reza
Department of Neuroscience, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, P.O. BOX 1417755469, Tehran, Iran.
Iranian National Center for Addiction Studies (INCAS), Iranian Institute for Reduction of High-Risk Behaviors, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2015 Oct;122(10):1391-8. doi: 10.1007/s00702-015-1408-2. Epub 2015 May 14.
Excessive playing of computer games like some other behaviors could lead to addiction. Addictive behaviors may induce their reinforcing effects through stimulation of the brain dopaminergic mesolimbic pathway. The status of dopamine receptors in the brain may be parallel to their homologous receptors in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs). Here, we have investigated the mRNA expression of dopamine D3, D4 and D5 receptors in PBLs of computer game addicts (n = 20) in comparison to normal subjects (n = 20), using a real-time PCR method. The results showed that the expression level of D3 and D4 dopamine receptors in computer game addicts were not statistically different from the control group. However, the expression of the mRNA of D5 dopamine receptor was significantly down-regulated in PBLs of computer game addicts and reached 0.42 the amount of the control group. It is concluded that unlike with drug addiction, the expression levels of the D3 and D4 dopamine receptors in computer game addicts are not altered compared to the control group. However, reduced level of the D5 dopamine receptor in computer game addicts may serve as a peripheral marker in studies where the confounding effects of abused drugs are unwanted.
像其他一些行为一样，过度玩电脑游戏可能会导致成瘾。成瘾行为可能通过刺激大脑多巴胺能中脑边缘通路来产生其强化作用。大脑中多巴胺受体的状态可能与其在外周血淋巴细胞（PBLs）中的同源受体平行。在此，我们采用实时PCR方法，研究了电脑游戏成瘾者（n = 20）与正常受试者（n = 20）外周血淋巴细胞中多巴胺D3、D4和D5受体的mRNA表达。结果显示，电脑游戏成瘾者中D3和D4多巴胺受体的表达水平与对照组无统计学差异。然而，电脑游戏成瘾者外周血淋巴细胞中D5多巴胺受体的mRNA表达显著下调，降至对照组的0.42。结论是，与药物成瘾不同，电脑游戏成瘾者中D3和D4多巴胺受体的表达水平与对照组相比没有改变。然而，电脑游戏成瘾者中D5多巴胺受体水平的降低可能作为一种外周标志物，用于那些不需要考虑滥用药物混杂效应的研究中。
