Zhang Xinyu, Liu Dongyu, Li Jiaqi, Zheng Xinyu, Zhou Shutong, Elhai Jon D, Montag Christian, Yang Haibo
1Faculty of Psychology, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China.
2Department of Psychology, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, 43606, USA.
J Behav Addict. 2025 Jan 21;14(1):347-360. doi: 10.1556/2006.2024.00076. Print 2025 Mar 28.
This study aimed to explore the brain activity characteristics of individuals with Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) during mobile gameplay, focusing on neural responses to positive and negative game events. The findings may enhance our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying IGD.
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was employed to measure hemodynamic responses (HbO/HbR) in the prefrontal cortex of both IGD participants and recreational gaming users (RGU), during solo and multiplayer mobile gameplay.
In solo mode, IGD participants exhibited stronger activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dLPFC), frontopolar area (FPA), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in response to positive events compared to RGU. Negative events led to reduced activation in the FPA among IGD participants. In multiplayer mode, IGD participants displayed lower activation in the dLPFC and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vLPFC), although overall brain response trends to positive and negative events were similar between IGD and RGU.
This study suggests that individuals with IGD exhibit heightened sensitivity to rewards and diminished sensitivity to losses, along with potential impairments in the executive control network. These results contribute to a better understanding of the neural mechanisms of IGD and offer insights for developing targeted interventions aimed at addressing abnormal reward and loss processing.
本研究旨在探讨患有网络游戏障碍（IGD）的个体在手机游戏过程中的大脑活动特征，重点关注对正面和负面游戏事件的神经反应。这些发现可能会增进我们对IGD潜在神经机制的理解。
采用功能近红外光谱技术（fNIRS）测量IGD参与者和娱乐性游戏用户（RGU）在单人及多人手机游戏过程中前额叶皮层的血液动力学反应（HbO/HbR）。
在单人模式下，与RGU相比，IGD参与者在背外侧前额叶皮层（dLPFC）、额极区（FPA）、眶额皮层（OFC）对正面事件表现出更强的激活。负面事件导致IGD参与者的FPA激活降低。在多人模式下，IGD参与者在dLPFC和腹外侧前额叶皮层（vLPFC）的激活较低，尽管IGD和RGU对正面和负面事件的整体大脑反应趋势相似。
本研究表明，患有IGD的个体对奖励表现出更高的敏感性，对损失的敏感性降低，同时执行控制网络可能存在损伤。这些结果有助于更好地理解IGD的神经机制，并为开发旨在解决异常奖励和损失处理的针对性干预措施提供见解。
