Overview

• Researchers enrolled 59 people with comorbid depression and Internet gaming disorder, assigning 32 to mindfulness training and 27 to progressive muscle relaxation.
• Participants in the mindfulness group attended two 2.5–3.5-hour sessions per week for four weeks in a protocol designed to observe cravings without acting on them.
• Compared with relaxation, mindfulness produced greater decreases in depressive symptoms, Internet Addiction Test scores, and craving for video games.
• Brain imaging showed reduced reactivity to gaming cues and increased activity in the lentiform nucleus after mindfulness practice, suggesting possible mechanisms for reduced craving and anhedonia.
• Authors describe mindfulness as a promising option for this common comorbidity—about one-third of people with IGD have depression—while noting the small sample and short follow-up warrant larger, longer trials.