There is ongoing controversy over whether internet gaming disorder is a real illness, but the scientists who do accept it are finding that it affects men and women differently. At the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America on Wednesday, researchers showed that IGD tends to be associated with poor impulse control — but only in men.

For a patient to receive a formal diagnosis of IGD, they must have engaged with gaming in a way that causes them to neglect other activities. In the study, led by senior author Dr. Yawen Sun, a diagnostic radiologist at Ren Ji Hospital in Shanghai, researchers performed resting-state fMRI on men and women with and without an IGD diagnosis. These volunteers also completed a test designed to measure impulsiveness.

Read More… Internet Gaming Disorder Affects the Brains of Men in a Unique Way

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