Search Results
reactions were performed using 2 μl of the first-strand cDNA, specific primers, and Power SYBR ® Green PCR Master Mix (Life Technologies, Carlsbad, CA, USA) as mentioned in the manufacturer’s protocol on a StepOnePlus™ Real-Time PCR System (Applied
may benefit from educational efforts on how to prevent problematic use of smartphones or apps or the internet more generally ( COST Action CA16207, 2021 ). Other leisure activities not involving use of digital technologies may be incorporated into the
Background and aims
In recent years, we have witnessed a growing research interest in behavioral addictions and in pleasurable behaviors that generate a certain discomfort in the people who engage in them. The objective of this study was to assess if users of collectible card games, miniatures, and dice from the Star Wars Universe Games (SWUG) may also present criteria of addiction and if the presence of these criteria is related to demographic variables, game-playing habits, and other variables.
Methods
SWUG players were contacted through specialized gaming chats, and 218 of them completed the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale – Short Form (IGDS-SF9), a scale that assesses motivation to engage in the game (Massively Multiplayer Online Motivations Scale), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Questionnaire, the Diener Satisfaction with Life Scale, and a question for the self-assessment of addiction.
Results
Significant predictors of addictive symptoms were the motivation to seek dissociation and (negatively) self-esteem. Users more significantly dedicate indirect hours to the game (thinking about the game, preparing material, etc.) than to actually playing. No participant could be considered pathologically addicted, as no one scored above the tentative cut-off point of the IGDS-SF9.
Discussion and conclusions
Despite the fact that many players considered themselves “addicted” and some presented various economic and family problems related to their activity, it was found that playing these games could not be equated to true addictive behavior, since no player had scores above the cut-off point. This finding contributes to current discussions about the tendency to overestimate excessive pleasurable behaviors.
Background and aims
Ibogaine is a naturally occurring hallucinogenic alkaloid with a therapeutic potential for reducing drug craving and withdrawal. To the best of our knowledge, no systematic review was previously performed assessing these effects. Thus, we conducted a systematic literature review of human studies assessing the antiaddictive effects of ibogaine.
Methods
Papers published up to July 2, 2016 were included from PubMed, LILACS, and SciELO databases following a comprehensive search strategy and a pre-determined set of criteria for article selection.
Results
Two hundred and fifty-nine studies were identified, of which eight met the established criteria. Seven studies were open-label case series with ibogaine and one study was a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial with noribogaine. Case series suggest that a single dose or a few treatments with ibogaine may significantly reduce drug withdrawal, craving, and self-administration in dependent individuals lasting from 24 h to weeks or months. No significant effects of noribogaine on opiate/opioid withdrawal were observed in the clinical trial.
Conclusions
Considering the necessity of new drugs that may produce fast-acting and sustained effects in opiate/opioid and cocaine dependence, the potential beneficial effects of ibogaine/noribogaine should be further investigated in controlled trials.
A médiaeszközök világába való belemerülés: adaptív és nem adaptív következmények
Immersion into the mediated world: adaptive and maladaptive consequences
to different theories of presence . Human Technology , 12 ( 2 ), 108 – 134 . Orchard , L.J ., & Fullwood , C . ( 2010 ). Current perspectives on personality and Internet use . Social Science Computer Review , 28 ( 2 ), 155 – 169 . Park , N
Abstract
Gaming disorder (GD) screening often involves self-report survey measures to detect the presence of symptoms. Studies have shown that gamers' responses vary greatly across survey items. Some symptoms, such as preoccupation and tolerance, are frequently reported by highly engaged but non-problematic gamers, and therefore these symptoms are thought to lack specificity and are suggested to be less important in classification decisions. We argue that the influence of response categories (e.g., dichotomous responses, such as ‘yes’ or ‘no’; or frequency categories, such as ‘rarely’ and ‘often’) on item responses has been relatively underexplored despite potentially contributing significantly to the psychometric performance of items and scales. In short, the type of item response may be just as important to symptom reporting as the content of survey questions. We propose some practical alternatives to currently used item categories across GD tools. Research should examine the performance of different response categories, including whether certain response categories aid respondents' comprehension and insight, and better capture pathological behaviours and harms.
Abstract
Background and aims
Game genres, availability on smartphones, in-game purchases, and playing duration, have been thought to influence Gaming Disorder (GD). However, little research has comprehensively examined their relationships with GD. Therefore, we examined the relationship between GD, in-game purchases, gaming duration via consoles and smartphones, and genres of smartphone games. Study 1 was based on self-reports, and Study 2 included objective data to clarify these associations.
Methods
We conducted two independent online surveys that collected sociodemographic data, game use patterns, and psychopathological assessment data, including GD severity (Study 1: N = 32,690; Study 2: N = 3,163). General mental illness scores and objective gaming time were also collected in Study 2.
Results
In Study 1, in-game purchases, several gaming genres, and subjective gaming duration were positively associated with probable GD. On the other hand, interactions between card games and loot box charges were negatively related to probable GD. In Study 2, objective gaming times of most game genres were not associated with GD. Although the correlation between subjective and objective gaming duration was moderate, their correlations with GD differed.
Discussion and conclusion
These results suggest the complexity of relationships between GD and in-game purchases, genres, and gaming duration. Results of this study suggest the importance of proper assessment of GD reflecting actual functional impairment in social life. Future studies should improve and update evaluation of assessments for gaming.
Background and aims
Aphantasia (“blind imagination”) is a poorly described condition with an uncertain etiology, characterized by reduced or lack of voluntary visual imagery. Preliminary evidence in humans suggests that hallucinogenic or psychedelic drugs that act as agonists of cortical 5-HT2A receptors [lysergic acid diethylamide, psilocybin, and dimethyltryptamine (DMT)] enhance visual imagery.
Methods
Interview and description of the case are presented in this study.
Results
A man self-diagnosed with long-lasting aphantasia that he attributed to a traumatic separation from his father when he was young and to a difficult relationship with him described sustained improvements in his visual imagery following ingestion of a single dose of the South American botanical hallucinogen ayahuasca, which is rich in DMT. Although improvements were modest, they were sustained and significative for the subject.
Conclusions
It is suggested that the described improvements were possibly attributed to biological and psychological processes, including stimulation of cortical 5-HT2A receptors, subsequent increased activity in the visual cortex, enhanced imaginative and imagery capacities, and psychosomatic resolution of a previous psychological trauma. Further trials could elucidate the role of 5-HT2A agonists, especially ayahuasca, in aphantasia.
Background and aims
Ibogaine is a natural alkaloid that has been used in the last decades as an adjuvant for the treatment of opiate withdrawal. Despite the beneficial results suggested by animal studies and case series, there is a lack of clinical trials to assess the safety and efficacy of ibogaine. Moreover, the majority of reports described cases of heroin-dependent individuals, with and without concomitant use of methadone, using high doses of ibogaine. Therefore, it is not clear if ibogaine at low doses could be used therapeutically in people on methadone maintenance treatments (MMT).
Methods
Case report of a female on MMT for 17 years who performed a self-treatment with several low and cumulative doses of ibogaine over a 6-week period.
Results
The patient successfully eliminated her withdrawals from methadone with ibogaine. Each administration of ibogaine attenuated the withdrawal symptoms for several hours, and reduced the tolerance to methadone until all signs of withdrawal symptoms disappeared at the end of the treatment. No serious adverse effects were observed, and at no point did the QTc measures reach clinically significant scores. Twelve months after the treatment, she was no longer on MMT.
Conclusions
To our knowledge, this is the first case report describing an ibogaine treatment using low and cumulative doses in a person on MMT. Although preliminary, this case suggests that low and cumulative doses of ibogaine may reduce withdrawal symptoms in patients undergoing MMT.
Social Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 19BSH117). RC was supported by the Auckland University of Technology, 2021 Faculty Research Development Fund. LF was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) under a “Doc.CH” Doctoral
