Subregion-specific insular dysconnectivity in internet gaming disorder: macroscale network abnormalities and molecular correlates

This neuroimaging study identified abnormal functional connectivity patterns in specific insular cortex subregions among 71 internet gaming disorder patients compared to 80 controls, with alterations in salience-network coordination and somatosensory integration. Transcriptomic analysis revealed the dysconnectivity correlates with gene-expression patterns involved in neuronal signaling, metabolic homeostasis, neurodevelopment, and structural plasticity.