“Mind Over Game: Unraveling Temporal Attention Bias in Internet Gaming Disorder”

Background and objectives:

Impulsive gaming behavior is a fundamental indicator of Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD). Attentional bias towards gaming-related stimuli might play a role in the challenges faced in managing online gaming habits. Nevertheless, the context-specific attentional bias along with its cognitive processes in individuals affected by IGD have yet to be thoroughly examined.

Approaches:

We contrasted individuals suffering from IGD with healthy controls (HC) using a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task to evaluate temporal attentional bias. By employing game-related and neutral stimuli as targets, we specifically analyzed the distribution of attentional resources between game-related stimuli and neutral options.

Findings:

The IGD cohort exhibited an intensified attentional blink effect when a game-related stimulus was the initial target, followed by a neutral target, illustrating IGD’s challenges in shifting attention away from gaming stimuli. Both IGD and HC participants showed reduced precision in recognizing a neutral first target succeeded by a game-related second target at shorter intervals, signifying heightened attentional involvement with game-related stimuli overall.

Conclusion:

The findings establish a cognitive foundation for persistent and uncontrollable gaming behaviors in those with IGD. Game-related cues take precedence in the distribution of attentional resources for individuals with IGD. These results offer fresh insights into the formulation of targeted interventions for IGD.