The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the therapeutic potential of real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) neurofeedback in alleviating internet gaming disorder (IGD) symptoms by training individuals with such symptoms to down-regulate the activity in their reward-processing-related midbrain regions.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Enrollment
20
Neurofeedback training is a type of non-invasive brain modulation technique that enables individuals to self-regulate brain activity patterns by providing them feedback on specific activity measures. Effective self-regulation is often linked to changes in cognition, behavior, and clinical symptoms.
A controlled form of neurofeedback training that provides feedback irrelevant to the targeted mental process.
Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau
Taipa, Macau
Change from Baseline in self-reported urge for internet gaming as assessed by Visual Analog Scales (1 to 100)
Time frame: Up to 30 days after the intervention session
Change in reward-related activity during exposure to internet gaming videos
Participants will complete cue-reactivity tasks in which they are exposed to video clips captured from the dependent mobile game before and after the intervention. Functional MRI data will be collected to measure their pre- to post-intervention changes in the brain reward processing pathways.
Time frame: Up to 3 days
Change in inhibitory response in the affective Go/Nogo task
This task that uses affective Chinese characters as stimuli will be used to examine changes in inhibitory control performance as well as changes in brain activity associated with this cognitive process pre- to post-intervention.
Time frame: Up to 3 days
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