Disrupted inter-brain synchronization in the prefrontal cortex between adolescents and young adults with gaming disorders during the real-world cooperating video games

Abstract

Background: Gaming disorder (GD) and hazardous gaming (HG) have a high incidence among adolescents and young adults and have caused various negative consequences. Interpersonal interaction deficits are closely related to GD and HG, however, the underlying brain mechanisms are still unclear.

Methods: The current study recruited 46 healthy subjects and 32 subjects with GD/HG. Gaming time and frequency, gaming disorder risks, life events, strengths, and difficulties were measured with scales. Subjects were randomly paired into 12 HC-HC dyads, 15 GD/HG-HC dyads, and 7 GD/HG-GD/HG dyads and in pairs completed a real-world cooperating video game - "Tied Together" with functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning recording in the prefrontal cortex. The inter-brain synchronization in each region of the PFC between dyads was calculated by wavelet to transform coherence to measure brain-to-brain synchronization.

Results: We found subjects with GD/HG reported higher risks of gaming. The highest IBS in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex significantly decreased in the GD/HG-HC and GD/HG-GD/HG dyads compared with healthy controls. A decreasing highest IBS of the left dlPFC was related to a decreasing level of peer problems.

Limitations: We declare limitations of age gaps of samples, undistinguishing GD from HG, use of sub-samples, and the broad concept of interpersonal interaction.

Conclusions: The current study found a decreased highest IBS in the left dlPFC among adolescents and young adults with gaming diseases. It may provide new prevention and treatment insights into gaming disorders targeting disrupted interpersonal interaction.

Keywords: Brain-to-brain synchronization; Hazardous gaming; Social interaction; Teenagers; fNIRS.