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Abstract
Although playing of Internet games may lead to Internet gaming disorder (IGD), most
game-users do not develop problems and only a relatively small subset experiences
IGD. Game playing may have positive health associations, whereas IGD has been repeatedly
associated with negative health measures, and it is thus important to understand differences
between individuals with IGD, recreational (non-problematic) game use (RGU) and non-/low-frequency
game use (NLFGU). Individuals with IGD have shown differences in neural activations
from non-gamers, yet few studies have examined neural differences between individuals
with IGD, RGU and NLFGU. Eighteen individuals with IGD, 21 with RGU and 19 with NFLGU
performed a color-word Stroop task and a guessing task assessing reward/loss processing.
Behavioral and functional imaging data were collected and compared between groups.
RGU and NLFGU subjects showed lower Stroop effects as compared with those with IGD.
RGU subjects as compared to those with IGD demonstrated less frontal cortical activation
brain activation during Stroop performance. During the guessing task, RGU subjects
showed greater cortico-striatal activations than IGD subjects during processing of
winning outcomes and greater frontal brain during processing of losing outcomes. Findings
suggest that RGU as compared with IGD subjects show greater executive control and
greater activations of brain regions implicated in motivational processes during reward
processing and greater cortical activations during loss processing. These findings
suggest neural and behavioral features distinguishing RGU from IGD and mechanisms
by which RGU may be motivated to play online games frequently yet avoid developing
IGD.