Gaming-addicted adolescents show thinning of the orbitofrontal cortex.

Connecting to the Internet via numerous devices is ubiquitous, beginning in childhood. This exposes teenagers to the possibility of online addictions, including gaming, which is the most prevalent Internet addiction in adults. Because all addictions are associated with morphometric changes in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), investigators in South Korea examined this region in adolescents addicted to online gaming.

Structural magnetic resonance imaging was performed on 15 gaming-addicted teenagers (mean age, 13) and 15 healthy controls, who were significantly older (mean age, 15) and had significantly higher intracranial volumes. Investigators comprehensively assessed all participants to rule out other psychiatric disorders. Cases needed to meet criteria for addiction, including functional impairment.

Analyses controlled for age and intracranial volume. In analyses by both region of interest and surface area, addicted adolescents had significant thinning of right lateral OFC, isthmus of the right cingulate gyrus, right pars orbitalis, and left lateral occipital cortex.

Comment: The age difference between the groups probably did not contribute to these imaging findings because normal adolescent cortical thinning would have favored thinner cortices in older healthy participants. The findings are consistent with those for other addictions, which overlap with findings for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Clinicians should be sure to ask patients and parents about time spent with online gaming because it could interfere with normal adolescent development. Families can be informed that a case-by-case approach to treatment is needed due to the lack of treatment studies.

Source: Journal Watch Psychiatry