Internet Gaming Disorder Behaviors in emergent adulthood: a pilot study examining the interplay between anxiety and family cohesion

Understanding risk and protective factors associated with Internet Gaming Disorder (IGD) has been highlighted as a research priority by the American Psychiatric Association, (2013). The present study focused on the potential IGD risk effect of anxiety and the buffering role of family cohesion on this association. A sample of emerging adults all of whom were massively multiplayer online (MMO) gamers (18–29 years) residing in Australia were assessed longitudinally (face-to-face: N = 61, Mage = 23.02 years, SD = 3.43) and cross-sectionally (online: N = 64, Mage = 23.34 years, SD = 3.39). IGD symptoms were assessed using the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale-Short Form (IGDS-SF9; Pontes & Griffiths Computers in Human Behavior, 45, 137–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.12.006, 2015). The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI; Beck and Steer, 1990) and the balanced family cohesion scale (BFC; Olson Journal of Marital & Family Therapy, 3(1) 64–80. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-0606.2009.00175.x, 2011) were applied to assess anxiety and BFC levels, respectively. Linear regressions and moderation analyses confirmed that anxiety increased IGD risk and that BFC weakened the anxiety-related IGD risk

Modeling behavioral reactivity to losses and rewards on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART): Moderation by alcohol problem severity

The relationship between risk-taking behavior and substance dependence has proven to be complex, particularly when examining across participants expressing a range of substance use problem severity. While main indices of risk-taking in the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) positively associate with problematic alcohol use in adolescent populations (e.g., MacPherson, Magidson, Reynolds, Kahler, & Lejuez, 2010), several studies have observed a negative relationship when examining behavior within adult substance using populations (Ashenhurst, Jentsch, & Ray, 2011 Campbell, Samartgis, & Crowe, 2013). To examine potential mechanisms that underlie this negative relationship, we implemented multilevel regression models on trial-by-trial BART data gathered from 295 adult problem drinkers. These models accounted for participant behavior on trials following balloon bursts or cash outs as indices of loss and reward reactivity, respectively, and included control variables including age, IQ, and individual delay discounting rate. Results revealed that individual trial pumping was significantly predicted by trial number, and by whether or not the previous trial was a big burst or a big cash out (i.e., large magnitude of potential gains) in a manner consistent with a "near-miss" effect. Furthermore, severity of alcohol problems moderated the effect of a previous trial big burst, but not of a big cash out, on subsequent trial behavior such that those with greater severity demonstrated relative insensitivity to this "near-miss" effect. These results extend previous studies suggesting that alcohol abusers are less risky on the BART by specifying a mechanism underlying this pattern, namely, diminished reactivity to large magnitude losses. © 2014 American Psychological Association

Overview of genetic analysis of human opioid receptors

The human \u3bc-opioid receptor gene (OPRM1), due to its genetic and structural variation, has been a target of interest in several pharmacogenetic studies. The \u3bc-opioid receptor (MOR), encoded by OPRM1, contributes to regulate the analgesic response to pain and also controls the rewarding effects of many drugs of abuse, including opioids, nicotine, and alcohol. Genetic polymorphisms of opioid receptors are candidates for the variability of clinical opioid effects. The non-synonymous polymorphism A118G of the OPRM1 has been repeatedly associated with the efficacy of opioid treatments for pain and various types of dependence. Genetic analysis of human opioid receptors has evidenced the presence of numerous polymorphisms either in exonic or in intronic sequences as well as the presence of synonymous coding variants that may have important effects on transcription, mRNA stability, and splicing, thus affecting gene function despite not directly disrupting any specific residue. Genotyping of opioid receptors is still in its infancy and a relevant progress in this field can be achieved by using advanced gene sequencing techniques described in this review that allow the researchers to obtain vast quantities of data on human genomes and transcriptomes in a brief period of time and with affordable costs