PET imaging reveals brain functional changes in internet gaming disorder
Abstract
Background Internet gaming disorder is an increasing problem worldwide, resulting in critical academic, social, and occupational impairment. However, the neurobiological mechanism of internet gaming disorder remains unknown. The aim of this study is to assess brain dopamine D2 (D2)/Serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptor function and glucose metabolism in the same subjects by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging approach, and investigate whether the correlation exists between D2 receptor and glucose metabolism. Methods Twelve drug-naive adult males who met criteria for internet gaming disorder and 14 matched controls were studied with PET and (11)C-N-methylspiperone ((11)C-NMSP) to assess the availability of D2/5-HT2A receptors and with (18)F-fluoro-D-glucose ((18)F-FDG) to assess regional brain glucose metabolism, a marker of brain function. (11)C-NMSP and (18)F-FDG PET imaging data were acquired in the same individuals under both resting and internet gaming task states. Results In internet gaming disorder subjects, a significant decrease in glucose metabolism was observed in the prefrontal, temporal, and limbic systems. Dysregulation of D2 receptors was observed in the striatum, and was correlated to years of overuse. A low level of D2 receptors in the striatum was significantly associated with decreased glucose metabolism in the orbitofrontal cortex. Conclusions For the first time, we report the evidence that D2 receptor level is significantly associated with glucose metaboli…
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The same molecular pathways, such as dopaminergic pathways, that operate in substance addictions are implicated in internet addiction.
“Third, the same molecular pathways (e.g., dopaminergic) that operate in substance addictions are implicated in internet addiction (Hou, Jia, Hu, Fan, Sun, Sun, & Zhang, 2012; Shaffer et al., 2004; Tian et al., 2014).”
From Ethics of the Attention Economy: The Problem of Social Media Addiction (2021) · cites this paper as Tian et al., 2014
No citation lists for this paper
No citation lists for this paper yet — checked again daily.
References 52 · Cited by 108
- Authors
- Tian, M., Chen, Q., Zhang, Y., Du, F., Hou, H., Chao, F., & Zhang, H.
- Affiliations
- Zhejiang University (CN)
- Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Zhang, Hong
- Venue
- European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
- Published
- 2014-04-16
- Volume
- 41
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 1388-1397
- ISSN
- 1619-7070 (ISSN-L)
- 1619-7089
- OpenAlex
- W2034250255
- Cited by
- 108
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 4
- FWCI
- 30.40
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Gambling Behavior and Treatments
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- internet gaming disorder, dopamine D2 receptor, 5-HT2A receptor, brain glucose metabolism, orbitofrontal cortex, striatum, compulsive behavior, loss of control, 18F-FDG
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Brain, Glucose, Humans, Male, Synapses, Case-Control Studies, Behavior, Addictive, Receptors, Dopamine D2, Video Games, Internet, Positron-Emission Tomography, Young Adult
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
