Meta-analysis of structural and functional brain alterations in internet gaming disorder

Xiaoyu Niu; Xinyu Gao; Mengzhe Zhang; Zhengui Yang; Miaomiao Yu; Weijian Wang; Yarui Wei; Jingliang Cheng; Shaoqiang Han; Yong Zhang

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1029344

Meta-analysis of structural and functional brain alterations in internet gaming disorder

Front Psychiatry. 2022 Oct 25:13:1029344. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1029344. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Xiaoyu Niu^{1

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8}, Xinyu Gao^{1

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8}, Mengzhe Zhang^{1

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8}, Zhengui Yang^{1

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8}, Miaomiao Yu^{1

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8}, Weijian Wang^{1

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8}, Yarui Wei^{1

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8}, Jingliang Cheng^{1

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8}, Shaoqiang Han^{1

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8}, Yong Zhang^{1

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Affiliations

¹ Department of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
² Henan Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Brain Function, Zhengzhou, China.
³ Henan Engineering Technology Research Center for Detection and Application of Brain Function, Zhengzhou, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Molecular Imaging of Henan Province, Zhengzhou, China.
⁵ Henan Engineering Research Center of Medical Imaging Intelligent Diagnosis and Treatment, Zhengzhou, China.
⁶ Zhengzhou Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Cognitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Zhengzhou, China.
⁷ Henan Key Laboratory of Imaging Intelligence Research, Zhengzhou, China.
⁸ Henan Engineering Research Center of Brain Function Development and Application, Zhengzhou, China.

Abstract

Background: Many neuroimaging studies have reported abnormalities in brain structure and function in internet gaming disorder (IGD). However, the findings were divergent. We aimed to provide evidence-based evidence of structural and functional changes in IGD by conducting a meta-analysis integrating these studies quantitatively.

Method: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and Scopus from January 1, 2010 to October 31, 2021, to identify eligible voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. Brain alternations between IGD subjects and healthy controls (HCs) were compared using the anisotropic seed-based d mapping (AES-SDM) meta-analytic method. Meta-regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between gray matter volume (GMV) alterations and addiction-related clinical features.

Results: The meta-analysis contained 15 VBM studies (422 IGD patients and 354 HCs) and 30 task-state fMRI studies (617 IGD patients and 550 HCs). Compared with HCs, IGD subjects showed: (1) reduced GMV in the bilateral anterior/median cingulate cortex, superior/inferior frontal gyrus and supplementary motor area; (2) hyperactivation in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, precentral gyrus, left precuneus, right inferior temporal gyrus and right fusiform; (3) hypoactivation in the bilateral lingual and the left middle frontal gyrus; and (4) both decreased GMV and increased activation in the left anterior cingulate. Furthermore, Meta-regression revealed that GMV reduction in left anterior cingulate were positively correlated with BIS-11 score [r = 0.725, p = 0.012(uncorrected)] and IAT score [r = 0.761, p = 0.017(uncorrected)].

Conclusion: This meta-analysis showed structural and functional impairments in brain regions related to executive control, cognitive function and reward-based decision making in IGD. Furthermore, multi-domain assessments captured different aspects of neuronal changes in IGD, which may help develop effective interventions as potential therapeutic targets.

Keywords: functional magnetic resonance imaging; gray matter volume; internet gaming disorder; meta-analysis; voxel-based morphometry.

Publication types

Systematic Review