Search

Individuals with addictions often encounter environmental cues that may trigger repeated engagement in addictive behaviors despite adverse consequences. In substance use disorders, Pavlovian cues may influence instrumental behaviors (Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer or PIT), and dominant habitual control that is insensitive to outcome values may serve as a foundational mechanism in addiction development. Although existing research suggests learning associations play important roles in internet gaming disorder (IGD), the contributions of PIT effects, habitual control, and connections with behavior remain largely uninvestigated. The present study sought to examine specific transfer effects of monetary cues, general transfer effects of gaming-related cues, and habitual control over instrumental behaviors as reflected in devaluation sensitivity, probing their interrelations and associations with gaming behaviors. Forty-five adults with IGD and 42 adults with recreational game use (RGU) at baseline performed a PIT task with a devaluation procedure. Participants reported gaming behavior and addiction severity at baseline and a four-month follow-up. Results demonstrated (1) a greater specific transfer effect in the IGD group compared to the RGU group; (2) positive correlations between specific and general transfer effects in both groups; (3) specific transfer effects of Go behavior in the IGD group positively correlating with habitual control, and No-Go behavior in the RGU group negatively correlating with habitual control; (4) transfer effects and habitual control relating prospectively to participants' gaming phenotypes at the four-month follow-up. These findings offer early evidence linking Pavlovian and instrumental associations to the development of IGD and suggest potential targets for prevention and intervention strategies. • Understanding cue-triggered biases and habitual control over instrumental behavior in IGD remains insufficient. • Adapted PIT task including specific PIT of monetary and general PIT of gaming cues components, and an outcome devaluation. • Compared with RGU, IGD showed a higher specific PIT effect, and similar general PIT effects and habit control. • The association between specific PIT effects and habit control was reversed between the two groups. • Transfer effects and habitual control were related to participants' gaming phenotypes at the four-month follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decisional impulsivity represents an important phenotype and a therapeutic target in Internet gaming disorder (IGD). Reality therapy and mindfulness meditation were two approaches to reduce impulsivity. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of a group behavioral intervention combining reality therapy and mindfulness meditation in reducing decisional impulsivity and IGD severity. Twenty-five IGD and 21 healthy comparison (HC) young adults participated in baseline tests on the delay discounting and balloon analog risk tasks to measure intertemporal and risky decision-making respectively. Among them, 18 IGD subjects participated in the intervention and were tested again at the end of intervention, and 19 HC subjects without intervention were also tested twice within a similar time period. Results indicate that: (1) at baseline, IGD subjects showed greater intertemporal and risky decisional impulsivity than HC subjects; (2) After intervention, IGD subjects were decreased in delay discounting rate and IGD severity, but did not perform differently on decisional impulsivity in risky choices, as compared with baseline. These findings suggest that decisional impulsivity is a multifaceted behavioral construct and may serve as a possible therapeutic target for IGD. In addition, these results highlight the need for further research into the roles of different forms of decisional impulsivity in the shaping, maintenance, and remission of IGD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]