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      Transcranial direct current stimulation for online gamers: A prospective single-arm feasibility study

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          Abstract

          Aim

          Excessive use of online games can have negative influences on mental health and daily functioning. Although the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have been investigated for the treatment of addiction, it has not been evaluated for excessive online game use. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility and tolerability of tDCS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in online gamers.

          Methods

          A total of 15 online gamers received 12 active tDCS sessions over the DLPFC (anodal left/cathodal right, 2 mA for 30 min, 3 times per week for 4 weeks). Before and after tDCS sessions, all participants underwent 18F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography scans and completed the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Brief Self Control Scale (BSCS), and Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II).

          Results

          After tDCS sessions, weekly hours spent on games ( p = .02) and scores of IAT ( p < .001) and BDI-II ( p = .01) were decreased, whereas BSCS score was increased ( p = .01). Increases in self-control were associated with decreases in both addiction severity ( p = .002) and time spent on games ( p = .02). Moreover, abnormal right-greater-than-left asymmetry of regional cerebral glucose metabolism in the DLPFC was partially alleviated ( p = .04).

          Conclusions

          Our preliminary results suggest that tDCS may be useful for reducing online game use by improving interhemispheric balance of glucose metabolism in the DLPFC and enhancing self-control. Larger sham-controlled studies with longer follow-up period are warranted to validate the efficacy of tDCS in gamers.

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          Most cited references20

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          High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success.

          What good is self-control? We incorporated a new measure of individual differences in self-control into two large investigations of a broad spectrum of behaviors. The new scale showed good internal consistency and retest reliability. Higher scores on self-control correlated with a higher grade point average, better adjustment (fewer reports of psychopathology, higher self-esteem), less binge eating and alcohol abuse, better relationships and interpersonal skills, secure attachment, and more optimal emotional responses. Tests for curvilinearity failed to indicate any drawbacks of so-called overcontrol, and the positive effects remained after controlling for social desirability. Low self-control is thus a significant risk factor for a broad range of personal and interpersonal problems.
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            Safety aspects of transcranial direct current stimulation concerning healthy subjects and patients.

            Cortical excitability changes induced by tDCS and revealed by TMS, are increasingly being used as an index of neuronal plasticity in the human cortex. The aim of this paper is to summarize the partially adverse effects of 567 tDCS sessions over motor and non-motor cortical areas (occipital, temporal, parietal) from the last 2 years, on work performed in our laboratories. One-hundred and two of our subjects who participated in our tDCS studies completed a questionnaire. The questionnaire contained rating scales regarding the presence and severity of headache, difficulties in concentrating, acute mood changes, visual perceptual changes and any discomforting sensation like pain, tingling, itching or burning under the electrodes, during and after tDCS. Participants were healthy subjects (75.5%), migraine patients (8.8%), post-stroke patients (5.9%) and tinnitus patients (9.8%). During tDCS a mild tingling sensation was the most common reported adverse effect (70.6%), moderate fatigue was felt by 35.3% of the subjects, whereas a light itching sensation under the stimulation electrodes occurred in 30.4% of cases. After tDCS headache (11.8%), nausea (2.9%) and insomnia (0.98%) were reported, but fairly infrequently. In addition, the incidence of the itching sensation (p=0.02) and the intensity of tingling sensation (p=0.02) were significantly higher during tDCS in the group of the healthy subjects, in comparison to patients; whereas the occurrence of headache was significantly higher in the patient group (p=0.03) after the stimulation. Our results suggest that tDCS applied to motor and non-motor areas according to the present tDCS safety guidelines, is associated with relatively minor adverse effects in healthy humans and patients with varying neurological disorders.
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              Prefrontal-striatal pathway underlies cognitive regulation of craving.

              The ability to control craving for substances that offer immediate rewards but whose long-term consumption may pose serious risks lies at the root of substance use disorders and is critical for mental and physical health. Despite its importance, the neural systems supporting this ability remain unclear. Here, we investigated this issue using functional imaging to examine neural activity in cigarette smokers, the most prevalent substance-dependent population in the United States, as they used cognitive strategies to regulate craving for cigarettes and food. We found that the cognitive down-regulation of craving was associated with (i) activity in regions previously associated with regulating emotion in particular and cognitive control in general, including dorsomedial, dorsolateral, and ventrolateral prefrontal cortices, and (ii) decreased activity in regions previously associated with craving, including the ventral striatum, subgenual cingulate, amygdala, and ventral tegmental area. Decreases in craving correlated with decreases in ventral striatum activity and increases in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity, with ventral striatal activity fully mediating the relationship between lateral prefrontal cortex and reported craving. These results provide insight into the mechanisms that enable cognitive strategies to effectively regulate craving, suggesting that it involves neural dynamics parallel to those involved in regulating other emotions. In so doing, this study provides a methodological tool and conceptual foundation for studying this ability across substance using populations and developing more effective treatments for substance use disorders.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                J Behav Addict
                J Behav Addict
                jba
                JBA
                Journal of Behavioral Addictions
                Akadémiai Kiadó (Budapest )
                2062-5871
                2063-5303
                12 November 2018
                December 2018
                : 7
                : 4
                : 1166-1170
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Radiology, Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea , Seoul, South Korea
                [2 ]Department of Radiology, Incheon St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea , Seoul, South Korea
                [3 ]Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Ewha Womans University , Seoul, South Korea
                [4 ]Department of Biomedical Engineering, The City College of New York , New York, NY, USA
                [5 ]Department of Neurology, Incheon St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea , Seoul, South Korea
                Author notes
                [* ]Corresponding authors: Yong-An Chung, MD, PhD; Department of Radiology, Incheon St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 56 Dongsu-ro, Bupyeong-gu, Seoul, 21431, South Korea; Phone: +82 32 280 5243; Fax: +82 32 280 5244; E-mail: yongan@ 123456catholic.ac.kr ; Hyeonseok Jeong, PhD; Department of Radiology, Incheon St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 56 Dongsu-ro, Bupyeong-gu, Seoul, 21431, South Korea; Phone: +82 32 280 5254; Fax: +82 32 280 5244; E-mail: hsjeong@ 123456catholic.ac.kr
                Article
                10.1556/2006.7.2018.107
                6376367
                30418077
                5bea69d1-bfd1-43c9-9bf8-56f5c518fb07
                © 2018 The Author(s)

                This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial purposes, provided the original author and source are credited, a link to the CC License is provided, and changes – if any – are indicated.

                History
                : 05 April 2018
                : 07 August 2018
                : 20 September 2018
                Page count
                Figures: 1, Tables: 1, Equations: 0, References: 26, Pages: 5
                Funding
                Funding sources: This study was supported by the Brain Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (NRF-2015M3C7A1064832).
                Categories
                Brief Report

                online game,transcranial direct current stimulation,positron emission tomography,dorsolateral prefrontal cortex,regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose,self-control

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