Neurobiological Link between Stress and Gaming: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Research on video gaming has been challenged by the way to properly measure individual play experience as a continuum, and current research primarily focuses on persons with gaming disorder based on the diagnostic criteria established in relation to substance use and gambling. To better capture the complexity and dynamic experience of gaming, an understanding of brain functional changes related to gaming is necessary. Based on the proinflammatory hypothesis of addiction, this scoping review was aiming to (1) survey the literature published since 2012 to determine how data pertinent to the measurement of stress response had been reported in video gaming studies and (2) clarify the link between gaming and stress response. Eleven studies were included in this review, and the results suggest that gaming could stimulate a stress-like physiological response, and the direction of this response is influenced by an individual’s biological profile, history of gaming, and gaming content. Our findings highlight the need for future investigation of the stress-behaviour correlation in the context of gaming, and this will assist in understanding the biological mechanisms underlying game addiction and inform the potential targets for addiction-related proinflammatory research.