Abdominal Ultrasonography After Transrectal Filling With Contrast Agents in Colorectal Cancer With Severely Stenotic Lesions.

OBJECTIVE: Abdominal ultrasonography after transrectal filling with contrast agent (AU-TFCA) was retrospectively evaluated with respect to determination of T stage and lesion length in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) who had previously failed colonoscopy because of severe intestinal stenosis. METHODS: The population comprised 83 patients with CRC with intestinal stenosis and previously failed colonoscopy who underwent AU-TFCA, and in addition contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), 2 wk before surgery. The diagnostic performance of AU-TFCA and CECT/MRI was evaluated relative to the post-operative pathological results (PPRs) by paired sample t-test, receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve, Pearson's χ2-test and κ and intraclass correlation coefficients. RESULTS: The T staging identified via AU-TFCA, but not CECT/MRI, was relatively consistent with that of the PPRs (linearly weighted κ coefficient: 0.558, p < 0.001, and linearly weighted κ coefficient: 0.237, p < 0.001, respectively). The overall diagnostic accuracy of T staging based on AU-TFCA (83.1%) was significantly higher than that based on CECT/MRI (50.6%). Regarding lesion length, the results of AU-TFCA and PPRs were comparable (t = 1.852, p = 0.068), but those of CECT/MRI and PPRs were significantly different (t = 8.450, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: AU-TFCA is effective in evaluation of lesion length and T stage in patients with severely stenotic CRC lesions who previously failed colonoscopy. The diagnostic accuracy of AU-TFCA is significantly better compared with that of CECT/MRI.

Decreased functional connectivity between ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens in Internet gaming disorder: evidence from resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging.

BACKGROUND: Internet gaming disorder (IGD) has become an increasing mental health problem worldwide. Decreased resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) between the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) has been found in substance use and is thought to play an important role in the development of substance addiction. However, rsFC between the VTA and NAcc in a non-substance addiction, such as IGD, has not been assessed previously. The current study aimed to investigate: (1) if individuals with IGD exhibit alterations in VTA-NAcc functional connectivity; and (2) whether VTA-NAcc functional connectivity is associated with subjective Internet craving. METHODS: Thirty-five male participants with IGD and 24 healthy control (HC) individuals participated in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Regions of interest (left NAcc, right NAcc and VTA) were selected based on the literature and were defined by placing spheres centered on Talairach Daemon coordinates. RESULTS: In comparison with HCs, individuals with IGD had significantly decreased rsFC between the VTA and right NAcc. Resting-state functional connectivity strength between the VTA and right NAcc was negatively correlated with self-reported subjective craving for the Internet. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest possible neural functional similarities between individuals with IGD and individuals with substance addictions.

Impaired decision-making under risk is associated with gaming-specific inhibition deficits among college students with Internet gaming disorder.

A growing body of evidence indicates that both inhibition and decision-making deficits play essential roles in the development and maintenance of Internet gaming disorder (IGD). Clarifying whether impaired decision-making among individuals with IGD is related to poor inhibition will advance our understanding of IGD and contribute to intervention development. However, the relationship between these two functions remains unclear. In this study, we sought to systemically examine inhibitory processes, decision-making and the relationship between the two among individuals with IGD. Thirty-four individuals with IGD and 32 matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. In comparison to HCs, IGD subjects demonstrated inhibition deficits during performance of the gaming-related Go/No-Go task and impaired decision-making under risk. In addition, errors on No-Go trials during the gaming-related Go/No-Go task were positively associated with decision-making impairments under risk but not under ambiguity among IGD subjects. These results suggest individuals with IGD are impaired in some aspects of inhibition and decision-making functions, and that decision-making deficits under risk are linked to poor inhibition specifically related to gaming cues, which has implications for the development of novel intervention.

Decision-making for risky gains and losses among college students with Internet gaming disorder.

Individuals with Internet gaming disorder (IGD) tend to exhibit disadvantageous risky decision-making not only in their real life but also in laboratory tasks. Decision-making is a complex multifaceted function and different cognitive processes are involved in decision-making for gains and losses. However, the relationship between impaired decision-making and gain versus loss processing in the context of IGD is poorly understood. The main aim of the present study was to separately evaluate decision-making for risky gains and losses among college students with IGD using the Cups task. Additionally, we further examined the effects of outcome magnitude and probability level on decision-making related to risky gains and losses respectively. Sixty college students with IGD and 42 matched healthy controls (HCs) participated. Results indicated that IGD subjects exhibited generally greater risk taking tendencies than HCs. In comparison to HCs, IGD subjects made more disadvantageous risky choices in the loss domain (but not in the gain domain). Follow-up analyses indicated that the impairment was associated to insensitivity to changes in outcome magnitude and probability level for risky losses among IGD subjects. In addition, higher Internet addiction severity scores were associated with percentage of disadvantageous risky options in the loss domain. These findings emphasize the effect of insensitivity to losses on disadvantageous decisions under risk in the context of IGD, which has implications for future intervention studies.

Multi-family group therapy for adolescent Internet addiction: exploring the underlying mechanisms.

OBJECTIVE: Internet addiction is one of the most common problems among adolescents and effective treatment is needed. This research aims to test the effectiveness and underlying mechanism of multi-family group therapy (MFGT) to reduce Internet addiction among adolescents. METHOD: A total of 92 participants consisting of 46 adolescents with Internet addiction, aged 12-18years, and 46 their parents, aged 35-46years, were assigned to the experimental group (six-session MFGT intervention) or a waiting-list control. Structured questionnaires were administered at pre-intervention (T1), post-intervention (T2) and a three-month follow-up (T3). RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the decline both in the average score and proportion of adolescents with Internet addiction in MFGT group at post-intervention (MT1=3.40, MT2=2.46, p<0.001; 100 versus 4.8%, p<0.001) maintained for three months (MT3=2.06, p<0.001; 100 versus 11.1%, p<0.001). Reports from both adolescents and parents were significantly better than those in the control group. Further explorations of the underlying mechanisms of effectiveness based on the changed values of measured variables showed that the improvement in adolescent Internet use was partially explained by the satisfaction of their psychological needs and improved parent-adolescent communication and closeness. CONCLUSIONS: The six-session multi-family group therapy was effective in reducing Internet addiction behaviors among adolescents and could be implemented as part of routine primary care clinic services in similar populations. As family support system is critical in maintaining the intervention effect, fostering positive parent-adolescent interaction and addressing adolescents' psychological needs should be included in preventive programs for Internet addiction in the future.

Failure to utilize feedback causes decision-making deficits among excessive Internet gamers.

Internet gaming addiction (IGA) is an increasing mental health issue worldwide. Previous studies have revealed decision-making impairments in excessive Internet gamers (EIGs) with high symptoms of IGA. However, the role of feedback processing in decision-making deficits among EIGs remains unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of feedback processing on decision-making deficits under risk among EIGs, using the Game of Dice Task (GDT) and a modified version of the GDT in which no feedback was provided. Twenty-six EIGs and 26 matched occasional Internet gamers (OIGs) were recruited. The results showed: (a) OIGs performed better on the original GDT than on the modified GDT (no feedback condition); however, EIGs performed similarly on both tasks; (b) EIGs and OIGs performed equally on the modified GDT; however, EIGs chose more disadvantageous options than OIGs on the original GDT; (c) EIGs utilized feedback less frequently on the original GDT relative to OIGs. These results suggest that EIGs are not able to utilize feedback to optimize their decisions, which could underlie their poor decision-making under risk.

Perceived parent-adolescent relationship, perceived parental online behaviors and pathological internet use among adolescents: gender-specific differences.

This study examined the associations between adolescents' perceived relationships with their parents, perceived parental online behaviors, and Pathological Internet Use (PIU) among adolescents. Additional testing was carried out to determine the effect of different genders (parent and adolescent). Cross-sectional data was collected from 4,559 students aged 12 to 21 years in the cities of Beijing and Jinan, People's Republic of China. Participants responded to an anonymous questionnaire concerning their Internet use behavior, perceived parental Internet use behaviors, and perceived parent-adolescent relationship. Hierarchical linear regressions controlling for adolescents' age were conducted. Results showed different effects of parent and adolescent gender on perceived parent-adolescent relationship and parent Internet use behavior, as well as some other gender-specific associations. Perceived father-adolescent relationship was the most protective factor against adolescent PIU with perceived maternal Internet use positively predicting PIU for both male and female adolescents. However, perceived paternal Internet use behaviors positively predicted only female adolescent PIU. Results indicated a different effect pathway for fathers and mothers on boys and girls, leading to discussion of the implications for prevention and intervention.