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

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
• video games
• internet addiction
• autonomic nervous system
• craving
• heart rate variability
• self-regulation

Acknowledgments

Shih-Ching Chin and Yun-Hsuan Chang are co-first authors of this study. The authors are thankful for Miss Han-Yu Chuang and Mr. Yu-Wei Lin’s assistance in data collection as well as the contribution from all participants.

Disclosure

Professor Marc N. Potenza has a pending patent application with Yale for Novartis; a consultant for Game Day Data; reports personal fees for consulting from Boehringer Ingelheim and Baria-Tek; advisory board for Opiant, outside the submitted work. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

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).