White matter regional homogeneity alterations in internet gaming disorder

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Growing evidence has highlighted the potential clinical significance and physiological basis of spontaneous brain activity in white matter. This study aimed to examine alterations in white matter Regional Homogeneity (WM-ReHo) in individuals with Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) and to explore its relationship with clinical characteristics and structural changes. We utilized resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and T1-weighted structural MRI data from 47 individuals with IGD and 51 healthy controls (HCs). WM-ReHo was calculated and contrasted between groups. Results showed that compared with HCs, individuals with IGD demonstrated significantly increased WM-ReHo in the left superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) and the splenium of corpus callosum (SCC). IGD participants also exhibited greater white matter volume (WMV), higher track fractional anisotropy (FA), and longer track length within the SCC; however, these structural changes were not linearly correlated with the alterations in WM-ReHo. In the IGD group, WM-ReHo values in the SLF were positively correlated with scores of the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and daily gaming time, while WM-ReHo values in the SCC were positively correlated with scores of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS). In summary, this study revealed increased ReHo with white matter regions. These changes are associated with longer gaming time, more severe addictive symptoms, and increased impulsivity, and are accompanied by alterations in white matter structure metrics in IGD, indicating a link to pathological and brain structural changes related to IGD. This research underscores the clinical potential of spontaneous white matter activity for understanding the pathology of IGD.