Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41979092›Full record

ArticleAddiction biology2026

Cortical Structure Alterations in Young People With Mild Internet Gaming Disorder.

Bohui Mei, Longyao Ma, Qiuying Tao, Jinghan Dang, Jieping Sun, Mengzhe Zhang, Jingliang Cheng, Yong Zhang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Addiction biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Bohui MeiDepartment of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Longyao MaDepartment of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0008-7933-9168
Qiuying TaoDepartment of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Jinghan DangDepartment of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Jieping SunDepartment of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Mengzhe ZhangDepartment of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Jingliang ChengDepartment of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
Yong ZhangDepartment of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4892-6614

Funding

Funding for Scientific Research and Innovation Team of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University QNCXTD2023007National Natural Science Foundation of China 62106229National Natural Science Foundation of China 81601467National Natural Science Foundation of China 81871327
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study aims to explore alterations in cortical structure in young individuals with early Internet gaming disorder (IGD) and to provide novel insights for early detection and intervention of disease treatment. We investigated the brain structural magnetic resonance imaging data of 64 individuals with IGD and 47 healthy controls (HCs). The grey matter volume, cortical thickness, and cortical complexity of the two groups were compared separately, and the correlations between the brain regions with structural changes and clinical characteristics in IGD patients were analyzed. Compared to HCs, the IGD group showed no significant GMV differences. However, they exhibited a distinct pattern of right-hemisphere dominant cortical thickening in regions spanning the default mode, dorsal attention, and visual networks (e.g., superior frontal gyrus [SFG], posterior cingulate and lateral occipital gyrus), concurrent with reduced cortical complexity in prefrontal and occipito-parietal areas. Our study suggests that long-term game stimulation is consistent with adaptive resource reallocation. Adolescents with mild IGD demonstrate a unique thickening-complexity decoupling pattern, where cortical thickening in game-related networks coexists with reduced complexity while GMV remains stable. This pattern could reflect a compensatory neuroadaptation phase, highlighting both a critical window for early intervention and specific neural targets for future therapeutic strategies.

Indexed as

Cerebral CortexInternet Addiction DisorderVideo GamesAdolescentCase-Control StudiesFemaleGray MatterHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleYoung AdultInternet gaming disorderstructural magnetic resonance imagingsurface‐based morphometryvoxel‐based morphometry

Identifiers

PMID41979092
PMCPMC13077548

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.