Altered Heart Rate Variability During Mobile Game Playing and Watching Self-Mobile Gaming in Individuals with Problematic Mobile Game Use: Implications for Cardiac Health

Shih-Ching Chin; Yun-Hsuan Chang; Chih-Chun Huang; Ting-Hsi Chou; Chieh-Liang Huang; Hsiu-Man Lin; Marc N Potenza

doi:10.2147/PRBM.S469240

Altered Heart Rate Variability During Mobile Game Playing and Watching Self-Mobile Gaming in Individuals with Problematic Mobile Game Use: Implications for Cardiac Health

Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2024 Jul 1:17:2545-2555. doi: 10.2147/PRBM.S469240. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Shih-Ching Chin^#¹, Yun-Hsuan Chang^#^{2

3

4

5

6}, Chih-Chun Huang^{6

7}, Ting-Hsi Chou¹, Chieh-Liang Huang⁸, Hsiu-Man Lin⁹, Marc N Potenza¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan.
² Institute of Gerontology, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
³ Institute of Behavioral Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
⁴ Department of Psychology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
⁵ Institute of Genomics and Bioinformatics, College of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.
⁶ Department of Psychiatry, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Douliou Branch, Yunlin, Taiwan.
⁷ Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry, Tsaotun Psychiatric Center, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Nantou, Taiwan.
⁹ Department of Child and Adolescent Development and Mental Health, China Medical University Children's Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
¹⁰ Psychiatry, Child Study and Neuroscience, Center of Excellence in Gambling Research, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Introduction: The surge in mobile gaming, fueled by smartphone and internet accessibility, lacks a comprehensive understanding of physiological changes during gameplay.

Methods: This study, involving 93 participants (average age 21.75 years), categorized them into Problematic Mobile Gaming (PMG) and non-problematic Mobile Gaming (nPMG) groups based on Problematic Mobile Gaming Questionnaire (PMGQ) scores. The PMGQ is a 12-item scale developed in Taiwan to assess symptoms of problematic mobile gaming. The research delved into heart rate variability (HRV) alterations during real-time mobile gaming and self-gaming video viewing.

Results: Results showed that the PMG group significantly presents a lower root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), and High Frequency (lnHF) than does the nPMG group (F=4.73, p=0.03; F=10.65, p=0.002, respectively) at the baseline. In addition, the PMG group significantly displayed elevated HF and low-frequency to high-frequency (LF/HF) in the mobile-gaming (F=7.59, p=0.007; F=9.31, p=0.003) condition as well as in the watching self-gaming videos (F=9.75, p=0.002; F=9.02, p=0.003) than did the nPMG.

Conclusion: The study suggests targeted interventions to mitigate autonomic arousal, offering a potential avenue to address adverse effects associated with problematic mobile gaming behavior. The PMG group displayed increased craving scores after real-time mobile gaming and watching self-gaming video excerpts, unlike the nPMG group. Elevated LF/HF ratios in frequent gaming cases heightened autonomic arousal, presenting challenges in relaxation after mobile gaming. These findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of the complex interplay between mobile gaming activities, physiological responses, and potential intervention strategies.

Keywords: addictive behaviors; autonomic nervous system; craving; heart rate variability; internet addiction; self-regulation; video games.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) of Taiwan for financial grant support (grant No. NSTC 109-2628-H-006-003-MY2, NSTC 111-2321-B-006-008, NSTC 111-2314-H-006-002-MY3, NSTC 112-2410-H-006-089-SS2 and NSTC 112-2321-B-006-013), and partly supported by China-Medical University & Asia University collaboration project (grant No. ASIA-109-CMUH-18).