Self-control impacts symptoms defining Internet gaming disorder through dorsal anterior cingulate-ventral striatal pathway

Addict Biol. 2022 Sep;27(5):e13210. doi: 10.1111/adb.13210.

Abstract

Self-control is important for long-term success and could be a protective factor against maladaptive behaviours such as excessive gaming activity or Internet gaming disorder (IGD). However, the neurobiological basis of self-control and its relationship to IGD remain elusive. Using resting-state fMRI data from 89 participants aged from 18 to 26, we found that self-control and the number of IGD symptoms (IGD-S) were positively and negatively correlated with functional connectivity between right ventral striatum (rVS) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), respectively. A mediation analysis indicated that self-control influenced IGD-S partially through the rVS-dACC connectivity. In addition, step-wise regression analyses revealed that the rVS connectivity in a reward-anticipation limbic pathway contributed to IGD-S but not self-control, independent of the dACC pathway. These results suggest that the cingulate-ventral striatal functional connectivity may serve as an important neurobiological underpinning of self-control to regulate maladaptive behaviours such as these manifesting IGD through striatal circuitry balance.

Keywords: Internet gaming disorder; dorsal anterior cingulate cortex; functional connectivity; self-control; ventral striatum.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Behavior, Addictive* / diagnostic imaging
  • Brain
  • Brain Mapping / methods
  • Gyrus Cinguli / diagnostic imaging
  • Humans
  • Internet
  • Internet Addiction Disorder
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Neural Pathways / diagnostic imaging
  • Ventral Striatum* / diagnostic imaging
  • Video Games*