ArticleClinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology2017
Comparing the Effects of Bupropion and Escitalopram on Excessive Internet Game Play in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder.
Article in Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 71 citations in OpenAlex.
- Therapeutic Interventions Targeted at Problematic Use of Digital Technology: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Evidence.JMIR mental health · 2026Pooled it
- The Comparative Efficacy of Treatments for Children and Young Adults with Internet Addiction/Internet Gaming Disorder: An Updated Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- Treatments for internet addiction, sex addiction and compulsive buying: A meta-analysis.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2020Pooled it
- Treatments of internet gaming disorder: a systematic review of the evidence.Expert review of neurotherapeutics · 2020Pooled it
- Current diagnostic procedures and interventions for Gaming Disorders: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychology · 2019Pooled it
- Pharmacotherapy for online behavioral addictions: a systematic review.Future science OA · 2026Review
- Abnormal effective connectivity of default mode network subsystems affects depressive symptoms and sleep disturbances in adolescents with internet gaming disorder.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Off-Label Medications and Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS) in the Treatment of Internet Gaming Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Addictive behaviors reports · 2026Review
- Forms of interventions for problematic usage of the internet: A scoping review.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of Non-Pharmacological Interventions on Gaming Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Psychiatry investigation · 2025Article
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy-Game: An Ironic Way to Treat Internet Gaming Disorder.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Optimal Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Reducing Problematic Internet Use in Youth: A Systematic Review and Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Internet gaming disorder associated with depression among Thai medical students: A university-based cross-sectional study.PloS one · 2025Article
- Algorithm-associated digital addiction among older adults: mechanisms and public health implications for healthy aging.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Effect of excessive internet gaming on inhibitory control based on resting EEG and ERP.iScience · 2024Article
- Recent treatment and novel imaging studies evaluating treatment of internet gaming disorder: a narrative review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Review
- A Systematic Review of Pharmacological Treatments for Internet Gaming Disorder.Psychiatry investigation · 2023Article
- The concept of recovery in gaming disorder: A scoping review.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2023Article
- Potential Biological Markers and Treatment Implications for Binge Eating Disorder and Behavioral Addictions.Nutrients · 2023Review
- Effects of non-pharmacological interventions on youth with internet addiction: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveSeveral studies have suggested the efficacy of bupropion and escitalopram on reducing the excessive internet game play. We hypothesized that both bupropion and escitalopram would be effective on reducing the severity of depressive symptoms and internet gaming disorder (IGD) symptoms in patients with both major depressive disorder and IGD. However, the changes in brain connectivity between the default mode network (DMN) and the salience network were different between bupropion and escitalopram due to their different pharmacodynamics.
methodsThis study was designed as a 12-week double blind prospective trial. Thirty patients were recruited for this research (15 bupropion group+15 escitalopram group). To assess the differential functional connectivity (FC) between the hubs of the DMN and the salience network, we selected 12 regions from the automated anatomical labeling in PickAtals software.
resultsAfter drug treatment, the depressive symptoms and IGD symptoms in both groups were improved. Impulsivity and attentional symptoms in the bupropion group were significantly decreased, compared to the escitalopram group. After treatment, FC within only the DMN in escitalopram decreased while FC between DMN and salience network in bupropion group decreased. Bupropion was associated with significantly decreased FC within the salience network and between the salience network and the DMN, compared to escitalopram.
conclusionBupropion showed greater effects than escitalopram on reducing impulsivity and attentional symptoms. Decreased brain connectivity between the salience network and the DMN appears to be associated with improved excessive IGD symptoms and impulsivity in MDD patients with IGD.
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Registered trials
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