On July 8, 2024, the research team led by Prof. Zhen Yuan from the Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences at the University of Macau published a research paper titled “Concurrent behavioral modeling and multimodal neuroimaging revealing how feedback affects the performance of decision making in internet gaming disorder” in Neuroimage (5 IF： 6.2) , an internationally renowned neuroimaging journal. The study combined functional blood oxygenation signals and electroencephalographic signals during the continuous risk decision-making process of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) with computational modeling, demonstrating the complex underlying cognitive neural mechanisms between feedback and decision-making of IGD individuals from a novel perspective.
IGD is a representative type of behavioral addiction, characterized by repetitive and compulsive engagement in online games, without considering negative consequences. The increasingly serious problem of internet addiction poses a huge challenge to society. However, treating and overcoming internet gaming addiction still faces huge challenges, leading to a higher rate of relapse. In-depth inspection on the related neural mechanisms of internet gaming addiction, including changes in brain structure and functional networks, provides new insight for detection and intervention of IGD.
Previous behavioral studies have demonstrated that participants exhibit more risk-seeking behavior after losing in a risk decision-making game. By contrast, additional behavioral studies discovered that participants show a greater tendency for risk-taking after experiencing a win, a phenomenon known as positive recency in a sequential decision-making paradigm. To date, it is unclear whether the outcomes of the previous round of games will promote or inhibit risk-taking behavior in the next round of games.
To resolve the changeling issues, Prof. Zhen Yuan research team integrated functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) neuroimaging and electroencephalography (EEG) to collect brain functional oxygen signals and brain electrical signals from 42 participants during continuous risk decision-making, in order to examine the potential neural mechanisms of IGD in continuous risk decision-making. In addition, they used Hierarchical Bayesian modeling to measure risk propensity, behavioral consistency, and emotions, and also considered emotional ratings from the previous round of gaming.
Fig.1. The flowchart of continuous risk decision task
Research results show that participants with IGD exhibit a higher tendency for risk-taking. EEG results indicate a significant time window difference between patients with IGD and healthy control group during perceptual feedback. Additionally, the study also found that compared to the control group, patients with IGD showed reduced brain activity in the prefrontal cortex during tasks.
Fig. 2. A) The distributions of fNIRS channels and EEG electrodes; B) The fNIRS-EEG device setup; C) fNIRS channels generated by NIRS-SPM.
Fig. 3. The ERP pair wise comparison to loss/win feedback for both the IGD and HC groups. Colored shaded areas: mean± error bar; light gray shaded areas: the period of significant decoding at the group level.
Fig. 4. Brain activation difference in prefrontal cortex (PFC) between the IGD and HC groups. A) The activation difference after win feedback in the IGD group as compared to that of HCs; B) The activation difference after loss feedback in the IGD group compared to that of HCs; The color bar denoted the t value of contrast.
This study aims to explore the decision-making performance of individuals with IGD in the decision-making process through consecutive risk decision tasks, investigating how their decisions are affected by the outcomes of the previous round (win or loss). Additionally the study utilizes functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) neuroimaging and electroencephalography (EEG) simultaneously to examine the potential cognitive neural mechanisms of IGD in consecutive risk decision-making. This pilot study is expected to provide new insights for a better understanding of the risk decision-making process in IGD.
The graduated PhDs Zeng Xinglin, Gao Fei, and Xu Shiyang from the Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, along with PhD students Sun Yinghao and Hua Lin, participated this work. Professor Zhen Yuan, Head of the center, is the corresponding author. This research was supported by the University of Macau (Nos. MYRG 2020-00067-FHS, MYRG2019-00082-FHS, and MYRG2018-00081-FHS) and the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund (No. FDCT 0020/2019/AMJ and FDCT 0011/2018/A1). Full text is available here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2024.120726