The Characteristics Of Brain Activities About Internet Gaming Addicts Under The Real Game Play

With the development of science and technology,the network has been integrated into all aspects of the society.As a result,more and more people are gradually addicted to Internet games.It causes extremely negative effects to our society,and this phenomenon is known as Internet gaming disorder(IGD).IGD is an addictive behavior that individuals repeatedly,excessively and uncontrollably engage in Internet games.It is considered as a kind of psychogeny and causes damage to their work,family and interpersonal relationship.The theoretical basis of IGD is based on material addiction.Unlike substance addiction,IGD has no obvious substance intake,but is caused by spiritual pleasure during the game.Unlike drugs effect,Internet games are an approachable entertainment activity and not all gamers will be addictive in it.So,“why they not? ” “What differences between them?”.With these questions,some studies have proposed the concept of recreational gaming users(RGU).RGU can effectively control their behavior in Internet game and has no negative impact on real life.Their physical and mental are healthy.Beacause of the concept of RGU,people can research on the essence of IGD effectively.In addition to the problem of the control group,previous studies are also the lack of ecological validity.Most researches aimed at the defects of cognitive activities in IGD,and created corresponding experimental tasks for the subjects to respond.This kind of researches can find out the promblems about cognitive activities in IGD.However,such research ignores the brain activity in real game situations.The cognitive activities which IGD is playing the game can help people understand more comprehensively.It could reveal the mechanism in IGD and provide theoretical basisfor preventing IGD.In summary,this study aims to explore the brain activity characteristics of IGD in real game situations by comparing with entertainment users,and expand the IGD research field.The specific research ideas: On the one hand,we analyze the whole brain activity in playing and construct the functional brain network.Meanwhile,it is significant to research the brain activity characteristics in IGD when they end the game in real life.IGD can not stand it and then try to continue the game.This process is similar to the withdrawal process.Therefore,this study also analyzes the brain activity in the game withdrawal state and constructs a functional brain network(Study1);On the other hand,it is crucial to research IGD cognitive defects(reward function)in playing game.The study analyzes the differences between two groups(Study 2).The study was intended to compare the differences in brain activity between IGD and RGU in the above two aspects.After the experiment,we got the results.Study 1:(1)During the game battle,a)RGU has significantly stronger dynamic functional connection than IGD in the following two brain regions : ACC.R and Cuneus.L;IFGtriang.R and MOG.R,STG.R;IFGoperc.R and Cuneus.L;IFGoperc.L and PreCG.R;b)IGD has significantly weaker dynamic functional connection than RGU in the following two brain regions: PUT.R and Cuneus.L;PUT.L and MOG.L;IFGtriang.L and MFG.L,MTG.R,STG.R,Cuneus.L,ACC.L,MFG.R;IFGtriang.R and THA.R,PreCG.R;(2)In the game withdrawal phase,a)RGU has significantly stronger dynamic functional connection than IGD in the following two brain regions :CAU.L and MFG.R;b)IGD has significantly weaker dynamic functional connection than RGU in the following two brain regions: IFGtriang.L and MFG.R,STG.L;IFGoperc.L and Cuneus.L.Study 2:(1)Under the reward condition,IGD has abnormal activation in following brain region: ORBinf.L,ACC.R,PoCG and Cuneus.R;(2)Under the penalty condition,IGD has abnormal activation in following brain region: ACC.R,MFG,INS.R.Based on results of the two studies,we can draw conclusions as follows:(1)During the game,the decision-making,execution control and reward system of IGD are abnormal.The regions that have abnormal functional connection are as follows: IFG,MFG,ACC,PreCG,Striatum,Cuneus and so on.It proves that IGD has damage in decision-making,execution control and reward systems.(2)During the game withdrawal process,the executive control function of IGD is abnormal.The regions that have abnormal functional connection are as follows:IFG,MFG,CAU and Cuneus.It shows that IGD can not inhibit their own behaviors effectively.Unsatisfied cravings and uncontrolled behaviors lead to individuals engaging in the game continually,and the addiction is aggravated.(3)Encoding the rewards(attack and attacked)in the game and extracting the corresponding time points to analyze,we found that the reward system of IGD was abnormal.The regions are as follows: OFC,ACC,INS and DLFC.It is proven that the reward system is crucial on IGD.