Work

Cerebellar-mediated imbalance of multiple neural circuits in internet gaming disorder: A multi-voxel pattern and granger causality analysis

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: At present, research on the neural mechanism of Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has predominantly concentrated on the prefrontal-striatal pathway, with the regulatory role of the cerebellum remaining to be systematically elucidated. METHODS: Using multimodal MRI in 66 IGD subjects and 46 recreational game users, we integrated multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) and Granger causality analysis (GCA). RESULTS: We found that the high discriminative hubs of IGD included the right superior parietal gyrus, cerebellar Crus I/II, and lobule VIIb. Further GCA studies revealed a reduction in the bidirectional connections of the right superior parietal gyrus back to the bilateral lingual gyrus and the left middle temporal gyrus; the effective connectivity from the right middle frontal gyrus to the Crus I/II were decreased; Moreover, efferent connections from the right cerebellar lobule VIIb to the left superior occipital gyrus, right precentral and postcentral gyrus were increased. CONCLUSION: The study establishes the cerebellar lobule VIIb as the multimodal hub for IGD. The cerebellum mediates the imbalance of multiple neural circuits in patients with IGD, including visual-spatial dissociation, diminished goal-directed control, and habitual behavioral reinforcement. This finding elucidates the distinctive unique neural characteristics of IGD and provides a precise positioning basis for the neuro-regulatory treatment of IGD.

Source: Journal of Psychiatric Research

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.12.002