Key result
Comorbid internet gaming disorder and smoking linked to greater VTA-NAc functional connectivity than either addiction alone.
Why the study?
Epidemiological studies show high comorbidity of cigarette smoking and internet gaming disorder, but the underlying neural mechanisms remain unknown.
What are the interaction effects between smoking and internet gaming disorder on resting-state functional connectivity in the reward and memory circuits?
Cross-Sectional (n=178)
No
What are the interaction effects between smoking and internet gaming disorder on resting-state functional connectivity in the reward and memory circuits?
p-value: p=4.04 × 10^-6
Comorbid smoking and internet gaming disorder interact to normalize resting-state functional connectivity deficits seen in either addiction alone, suggesting a compensatory mechanism in functional circuits.
No immediate clinical implications for comorbid addictions; leaves open whether connectivity changes influence disease course or interventions.
Background: Many reports have focused on cigarette smoking and internet gaming disorder (IGD), with widespread alterations of resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in the reward and memory circuits, respectively. Epidemiological studies have also shown high comorbidity of cigarette smoking and IGD. However, the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. Therefore, this study investigates the comorbidity and interaction effects between smoking and IGD from the rsFC perspective. Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic imaging data were collected from 60 healthy controls (HC), 46 smokers, 38 IGD individuals, and 34 IGD comorbid with smoking (IGDsm) participants. Voxel-wise rsFC maps were calculated for all subjects with the ventral tegmental area, rostral hippocampus, and caudal hippocampus as regions of interest, respectively. Results: Significant interaction effects between smoking and IGD were mainly involved in the reward and memory circuits; that is, the rsFC between the ventral tegmental area and right nucleus accumbens, between the rostral hippocampus and bilateral nucleus accumbens, sensorimotor areas, and left middle temporal gyrus. Specifically, in these circuits, smokers showed decreased rsFC compared to the HC group, while IGDsm showed increased rsFC compared to smokers and IGD individuals. The IGDsm and HC groups showed no significant difference. The altered rsFC also correlated with clinical measures. Conclusion: These findings indicate that lower rsFC in smokers or IGD individuals increases under the effect of another type of addiction, such as smoking and IGD, but only increases to the normal state, which might explain the comorbidity and interaction between smoking and IGD from the perspective of functional circuits.
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Qiu et al. (2023) conducted a cross-sectional in Internet gaming disorder and smoking (n=178). Comorbid smoking and internet gaming disorder vs. Healthy controls, smokers only, and IGD only was evaluated on Interaction effects between smoking and IGD on resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) between the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and right nucleus accumbens (NAc) (p=4.04 × 10^-6). Comorbid internet gaming disorder and smoking increased resting-state functional connectivity between the ventral tegmental area and right nucleus accumbens compared to either addiction alone.
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