Mindfulness Meditation Training Reduces Gaming Cravings by Reshaping the Functional Connectivity Between the Default Mode Network and Executive Control-Related Brain Regions.
Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging August 1, 2024 Xuefeng Xu, Xuefeng Ma, Haosen Ni et al. 14 citations
Mindfulness meditation reduced addiction severity and game craving in people with internet gaming disorder more effectively than progressive muscle relaxation. After one month of training, functional connectivity between the executive control network and both the default mode network and reward-related brain regions increased. These connectivity changes correlated negatively with dopamine and acetylcholine transporters and positively with serotonin and GABA receptors. The findings suggest mindfulness meditation enhances top-down control over cravings by altering brain network interactions.