Montag Christian, Sindermann Cornelia, Becker Benjamin, Panksepp Jaak
Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm UniversityUlm, Germany; Key Laboratory for NeuroInformation/Center for Information in Medicine, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of ChinaChengdu, China.
Institute of Psychology and Education, Ulm University Ulm, Germany.
Front Psychol. 2016 Dec 16;7:1906. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01906. eCollection 2016.
Internet addiction represents an emerging global health issue. Increasing efforts have been made to characterize risk factors for the development of Internet addiction and consequences of excessive Internet use. During the last years, classic research approaches from psychology considering personality variables as vulnerability factor, especially in conjunction with neuroscience approaches such as brain imaging, have led to coherent theoretical conceptualizations of Internet addiction. Although such conceptualizations can be valuable aid, the research field is currently lacking a comprehensive framework for determining brain-based and neurochemical markers of Internet addiction. The present work aims at providing a framework on the molecular level as a basis for future research on the neural and behavioral level, in order to facilitate a comprehensive neurobiological model of Internet addiction and its clinical symptomatology. To help establish such a molecular framework for the study of Internet addiction, we investigated in = 680 participants associations between individual differences in tendencies toward Internet addiction measured by the Generalized Problematic Internet Use Scale-2 (GPIUS-2) and individual differences in primary emotional systems as assessed by the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS). Regression analysis revealed that the ANPS scales FEAR and SADNESS were the ANPS scales most robustly positively linked to several (sub)scales of the GPIUS-2. Also the scales SEEKING, CARE and PLAY explain variance in some of the GPIUS-2 subscales. As such, these scales are negatively linked to the GPIUS-2 subscales. As the ANPS has been constructed on substantial available brain data including an extensive molecular body with respect to evolutionary highly conserved emotional circuitry in the ancient mammalian brain, the present study gives first ideas on putative molecular mechanisms underlying different facets of Internet addiction as derived from associations between tendencies toward Internet addiction and individual differences in primary emotional systems. For example, as SADNESS is linked to the overall GPIUS-2 score, and the neuropeptide oxytocin is known to downregulate SADNESS, it is conceivable that the neuropeptide might play a role in Internet addition on the molecular level. Our findings provide a theoretical framework potentially illuminating the molecular underpinnings of Internet addiction. Finally, we also present data on the ANPS and smartphone addiction at the end of the paper. Similar to the reported associations between the ANPS and the GPIUS-2, these correlations might provide an initial outline for a framework guiding future studies that aim to address the molecular basis of smartphone addiction.
网络成瘾是一个新出现的全球性健康问题。人们越来越努力地去界定网络成瘾发展的风险因素以及过度使用网络的后果。在过去几年里，心理学的经典研究方法将人格变量视为易患因素，特别是与脑成像等神经科学方法相结合，已经形成了关于网络成瘾的连贯理论概念。尽管这些概念可能是有价值的帮助，但目前该研究领域缺乏一个用于确定网络成瘾基于大脑和神经化学标记的综合框架。本研究旨在提供一个分子水平的框架，作为未来神经和行为水平研究的基础，以便促进一个关于网络成瘾及其临床症状学的综合神经生物学模型。为了帮助建立这样一个用于研究网络成瘾的分子框架，我们对680名参与者进行了调查，研究通过广义问题性网络使用量表-2（GPIUS-2）测量的网络成瘾倾向的个体差异与通过情感神经科学人格量表（ANPS）评估的主要情感系统的个体差异之间的关联。回归分析表明，ANPS量表中的恐惧和悲伤与GPIUS-2的几个（子）量表呈最强的正相关。寻求、关爱和玩耍量表也能解释GPIUS-2一些子量表中的方差。也就是说，这些量表与GPIUS-2子量表呈负相关。由于ANPS是基于大量现有的大脑数据构建的，包括关于古代哺乳动物大脑中进化上高度保守的情感回路的广泛分子体系，本研究首次提出了从网络成瘾倾向与主要情感系统个体差异之间的关联推导出来的网络成瘾不同方面潜在分子机制的观点。例如，由于悲伤与GPIUS-2总分相关，且已知神经肽催产素能下调悲伤情绪，所以可以想象该神经肽可能在网络成瘾的分子水平上发挥作用。我们的研究结果提供了一个理论框架，可能有助于阐明网络成瘾的分子基础。最后，我们在论文结尾还展示了关于ANPS和智能手机成瘾的数据。与报道的ANPS和GPIUS-2之间的关联类似，这些相关性可能为指导未来旨在探讨智能手机成瘾分子基础的研究框架提供初步轮廓。
