Regulation of Craving in Internet Gamers

NCT03352973 | Completed DMC

• 1 other identifier: IGDROC
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 20
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This project aims to investigate (1) the behavioral and neural mechanisms of regulation of craving in Internet gamers; (2) effects of tDCS over the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) on craving and regulation of craving and aversive emotions in this population. (3) effects of tDCS over dlPFC on attentional bias towards gaming related cues.This project will be conducted in Beijing, China, based on a large sample of Internet gamers.

Conditions

Internet Gaming Disorder

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Craving in the regulation of craving (ROC) task after the initiation of active and sham tDCS

  Using the Visual Analog Scale (from 1 = 'not at all' to 9 = 'very much'), craving is assessed in the ROC task. This task lasts 12-13 minutes. Craving in the downregulation condition will be compared between the active and sham tDCS. Craving in the upregulation condition will also be compared between the active and sham tDCS.

  4 minutes after the initiation of active and sham tDCS for half of the participants

• Aversive feeling in the emotion regulation (ER) task after the initiation of active and sham tDCS

  Using the Visual Analog Scale (from 1 = 'not at all' to 9 = 'very much'), aversive feeling is assessed in the ER task. This task lasts 12-13 minutes. Aversive feeling in the downregulation condition will be compared between the active and sham tDCS. Aversive feeling in the upregulation condition will also be compared between the active and sham tDCS.

  16-17 minutes after the initiation of active and sham tDCS

• Reaction times (RTs) in the cognitive task assessing inhibition of attentional bias after the initiation of active and sham tDCS

  Using the E-prime software, RTs are recorded in milliseconds in the cognitive task assessing inhibition of attentional bias. The cognitive task lasts 5-6 minutes. RTs difference between the trials including gaming pictures and those including gaming pictures will be calculated and such RTs difference will be compared between the active and sham tDCS.

  45-47 minutes after the initiation of of active and sham tDCS

Secondary Outcomes (6)

• Skin conductance responses (SCRs) in the ROC task after the initiation of active and sham tDCS

  4 minutes after the initiation of active and sham tDCS

• Skin conductance responses (SCRs) in the ER task after the initiation of active and sham tDCS

  16-17 minutes after the initiation of active and sham tDCS ham tDCS

• Background craving before the initiation of active and sham tDCS

  Approximately 10 minutes before the initiation of active and sham tDCS

• Cue-induced craving before the initiation of active and sham tDCS

  Approximately 8 minutes before the initiation of active and sham tDCS

• Background craving after the initiation of active and sham tDCS

  38-40 minutes after the the initiation of active and sham tDCS

Study Arms (2)

active tDCS on the dlPFC

EXPERIMENTAL

tDCS on the DLPFC Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) target will be identified by the baseline functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study for regulation of craving using a separate sample. During the intervention, each participant will receive an active transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) intervention on this DLPFC region (1.5 mA for 20 minutes).

Other: active tDCS on the dlPFC

sham tDCS on the dlPFC

SHAM COMPARATOR

Each participant will also receive a sham tDCS intervention as a controlled condition. The sham tDCS only include a 30-s ramp up and a 30-s ramp down.

Other: sham tDCS on the dlPFC

Interventions

active tDCS on the dlPFC OTHER

During active tDCS session, participants will perform the regulation of craving (ROC) and emotion regulation (ER) tasks. In the ROC task, participants will downregulate and upregulate craving elicited by gaming pictures using cognitive reappraisal. In the ER task, participants will downregulate and upregulate aversive feelings by negative pictures using cognitive reappraisal. After the active tDCS session, participants will complete a cognitive task assessing inhibitory control of attentional bias, in which participants will perform a number classification task with gaming pictures and non-gaming pictures being distractors. During the task, reaction times (RTs) wil be recorded.

Also known as: tDCS

active tDCS on the dlPFC

sham tDCS on the dlPFC OTHER

During the sham tDCS session, participants will perform the regulation of craving (ROC) and emotion regulation (ER) tasks. In the ROC task, participants will downregulate and upregulate craving elicited by gaming pictures using cognitive reappraisal. In the ER task, participants will downregulate and upregulate aversive feelings by negative pictures using cognitive reappraisal. After the sham tDCS session, participants will complete a cognitive task assessing inhibitory control of attentional bias, in which participants will perform a number classification task with gaming pictures and non-gaming pictures being distractors. During the task, reaction times (RTs) wil be recorded.

Also known as: tDCS

sham tDCS on the dlPFC

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 30 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• engagement in a popular Internet game (Arena of Valor) for over 14 hours per week for a minimum of 6 months.

You may not qualify if:

• current or history of use of illegal substances and gambling;
• current or history of psychiatric or neurological illness;
• current use of psychotropic medications.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Beijing Normal University: lead

Study Sites (1)

State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University

Beijing, Beijing Municipality, 100875, China

Location

Related Publications (2)

• Kober H, Mende-Siedlecki P, Kross EF, Weber J, Mischel W, Hart CL, Ochsner KN. Prefrontal-striatal pathway underlies cognitive regulation of craving. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Aug 17;107(33):14811-6. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1007779107. Epub 2010 Aug 2.

  PMID: 20679212 BACKGROUND

• Wu LL, Potenza MN, Zhou N, Kober H, Shi XH, Yip SW, Xu JH, Zhu L, Wang R, Liu GQ, Zhang JT. Efficacy of single-session transcranial direct current stimulation on addiction-related inhibitory control and craving: a randomized trial in males with Internet gaming disorder. J Psychiatry Neurosci. 2021 Jan 4;46(1):E111-E118. doi: 10.1503/jpn.190137.

  PMID: 33119491 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Internet Addiction Disorder

Interventions

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Technology Addiction; Behavior, Addictive; Compulsive Behavior; Impulsive Behavior; Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Electric Stimulation Therapy; Therapeutics; Convulsive Therapy; Psychiatric Somatic Therapies; Behavioral Disciplines and Activities; Electroshock; Psychological Techniques

Study Officials

• Jin-Tao Zhang, PhD

  Beijing Normal University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR
• Masking Details: double blind: both participants and experiment won't know the stimulation condition
• Purpose: BASIC SCIENCE
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associated Professor

Model Details: within-subject, sham-controlled design: all subjects will receive active and sham tDCS in a randomized order

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 13, 2017
• First Posted: November 24, 2017
• Study Start: July 20, 2018
• Primary Completion: September 15, 2018
• Study Completion: October 20, 2018
• Last Updated: December 19, 2018

Record last verified: 2018-12

Locations

CN (1)