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Internet Gaming DisorderNCT04068064

Emotional Association Bias Modification Training in Individuals With IGD

A study testing EABM training in people with Internet Gaming Disorder, run by Beijing Normal University at 1 site in China.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

This project aims to investigate (1) the efficacy of emotional association bias modification (EABM) training on internet gaming disorder (IGD); (2) the underlying neural mechanisms of such efficacy Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 30 years
Conditions the study is for
Internet Gaming Disorder
What is being tested?
EABM training
Type of treatment
Surgery or procedure
Could I receive a placebo?
Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
How many people
87 participants
Where
1 siteChina
Study dates
23 Aug 2019to 28 Feb 2020
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 30 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult

Who may be able to join

  • the 5th edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5 ) recommended diagnosis of Internet gaming disorder :
  • the scores of the 9 items of DSM-5 recommended diagnosis for Internet gaming disorder ≥ 5.
  • engagement in popular Internet games (e.g. Arena of Valor, League of Legends and Player Unknown's Battle Grounds) for over 20 hours per week for a minimum of 12 months.
  • the scores of the Young-Internet addiction Test ≥ 50

Who cannot join

  • current or history of use of illegal substances and other addictions;
  • current or history of psychiatric or neurological illness;
  • current use of psychotropic medications.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

China1 site

  • State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University

    Beijing, Beijing Municipality, 100875

Other trials in China

About this study

Official title: Efficacy and Mechanisms Underlying Emotional Association Bias Modification in Individuals With IGD

This project aims to investigate (1) the efficacy of emotional association bias modification (EABM) training on internet gaming disorder (IGD); (2) the underlying neural mechanisms of such efficacy

Read the detailed description

As with the efficacy, the experiment aims to test whether EABM training will reduce positive emotional association bias towards gaming, compulsive choice of gaming pictures, cue-induced craving for gaming, the severity of gaming behaviors in individuals with IGD.

As with the underlying neural mechanisms, the experiment aims to test whether EABM training will alter the activation of reward circuits in response to gaming pictures, the activation of executive control network (mainly refering to the prefrontal cortex) regarding regulation ability for craving and response inhibition ability.

Being tested
EABM training, sham training
Medical subject headings
Internet Addiction Disorder

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • EABM trainingProcedure or surgery

    The training aims at associating gaming pictures with negative words and pictures of healthy activities with positive words. Gaming pictures are always presented with a pair of negative words. Pictures of healthy activities are always presented with a pair of positive words. Each picture is presented with a fixed pair of words. Participants will be instructed to select one word to get the most monetary reward. Specifically, in response to each gaming picture, selecting one word will have a 70% chance to get a monetary reward and the other word will have a 30% chance to get a monetary reward. A similar rationale applies to the pictures of healthy activities. The reward setting will help consolidate target associations.

    Each training session includes 300 times/trials of each type of association, presented in pseudorandom way. The whole training includes 6 training sessions. Participants will receive one training session every days.

  • sham trainingProcedure or surgery

    In the control group, neutral words instead of emotional words are used. All other settings are the same with those in the intervention group

Study groups in NCT04068064
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
EABM training groupExperimentalabout 40 individuals with IGD will be randomly assigned to the EABM training group
Receives: Procedure: EABM training
Control training groupPlacebo comparatorabout another 40 individuals with IGD will be randomly assigned to the control training group
Receives: Procedure: sham training

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Changes in gaming-related positive emotional association biases (EAB)

    The gaming-related positive EAB will be assessed in a priming task. In the task, participants will be instructed to judge the emotional valence of positive or negative words following gaming pictures or healthy-activity pictures. Gaming-related positive EAB will be calculated by determining differences in reaction times (RTs; RTs (negative-word) minus RTs (positive-word)) in response to words following gaming pictures

    Measured: baseline , the 1st day after training

  2. Changes in gaming-related compulsive thoughts

    the scores of gaming-related compulsive thoughts will be assessed with the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale modified for internet gaming disorder. The range of the score concerning gaming-related compulsive thoughts of this scale is from 0 to 20. Higher scores means more gaming-related compulsive thoughts.

    Measured: baseline, the 1st week after training, the 2nd week after training, the 3rd week after training, the 4th week after training, the 6th week after training, the 8th week after training

  3. Changes in gaming-related compulsive behaviors

    the scores of gaming-related compulsive behaviors will be assessed with the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale modified for internet gaming disorder. The range of the score concerning gaming-related compulsive behaviors of this scale is from 0 to 20. Higher scores means more gaming-related compulsive behaviors.

    Measured: baseline, the 1st week after training, the 2nd week after training, the 3rd week after training, the 4th week after training, the 6th week after training, the 8th week after training

Secondary outcomes (4)

  1. Changes in positive healthy-activity-related EAB

    The healthy-activity-related positive EAB will be assessed in a priming task. In the task, participants will be instructed to judge the emotional valence of positive or negative words following gaming pictures or healthy-activity pictures. Healthy-activity-related positive EAB will be calculated by determining differences in reaction times (RTs; RTs (negative-word) minus RTs (positive-word)) in response to words following healthy-activity pictures

    Measured: baseline and the 1st day after training

  2. Changes in IGD severity

    The scores of IGD severity will be assessed with the internet addiction test for internet gaming disorder. The range of the score of this scale is from 20 to 100. Higher scores means severer internet gaming disorder.

    Measured: baseline, the 4th week after training, the 8th week after training

  3. Changes in weekly gaming time

    weekly gaming time will be assessed by instructing participants to report weekly gaming hour in a questionaire

    Measured: baseline, the 1st week after training, the 2nd week after training, the 3rd week after training, the 4th week after training, the 6th week after training, the 8th week after training

  4. Changes in craving

    In the regulation-of-craving task, participants will report gaming-related craving during look condition, and during regulation condition using cognitive reappraisal，respectively. Craving will be assessed using a Visual Analog Scale (from 1 = 'not at all' to 9 = 'very high')

    Measured: baseline , the 1st day after training

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted28 Aug 2019
  2. Study start23 Aug 2019
  3. Primary completion28 Feb 2020
  4. Study completion28 Feb 2020

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
a randomized, between-subject design, including an intervention group and a control group
Masking
Double blind
Who is masked
Participant, Investigator
Enrolment
87 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04068064
Sponsor's protocol ID
EABMT_IGD
Status last verified
Jun 2022
First submitted
20 Aug 2019
Last updated
5 Jul 2022
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
Yes: we will share individual participant data when required

Publications

  • Snagowski J, Wegmann E, Pekal J, Laier C, Brand M. Implicit associations in cybersex addiction: Adaption of an Implicit Association Test with pornographic pictures. Addict Behav. 2015 Oct;49:7-12. doi: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2015.05.009. Epub 2015 May 16.

    PubMed 26026385

  • Wu L, Xu J, Song K, Zhu L, Zhou N, Xu L, Liu G, Wang Z, Wang R, Qin S, Fang X, Zhang J, Potenza MN. Emotional bias modification weakens game-related compulsivity and reshapes frontostriatal pathways. Brain. 2022 Dec 19;145(12):4210-4221. doi: 10.1093/brain/awac267.

    PubMed 35861265

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing EABM training in people with Internet Gaming Disorder, run by Beijing Normal University at 1 site in China.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 5 Jul 2022. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in China. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Changes in gaming-related positive emotional association biases (EAB) (time frame: baseline , the 1st day after training). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04068064, which also lists 2 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 5 Jul 2022.

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