Low 2D:4D values are associated with video game addiction.
Androgen-dependent signaling regulates the growth of the fingers on the human hand during embryogenesis. A higher androgen load results in lower 2D:4D (second digit to fourth digit) ratio values. Prenatal androgen exposure also impacts brain development. 2D:4D values are usually lower in males and are viewed as a proxy of male brain organization. Here, we quantified video gaming behavior in young males. We found lower mean 2D:4D values in subjects who were classified according to the CSAS-II as having at-risk/addicted behavior (n = 27) compared with individuals with unproblematic video gaming behavior (n = 27). Thus, prenatal androgen exposure and a hyper-male brain organization, as represented by low 2D:4D values, are associated with problematic video gaming behavior. These results may be used to improve the diagnosis, prediction, and prevention of video game addiction.
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany.
Johannes
J
Kornhuber
Eva-Maria
EM
Zenses
Bernd
B
Lenz
Christina
C
Stoessel
Polyxeni
P
Bouna-Pyrrou
Florian
F
Rehbein
Sören
S
Kliem
Thomas
T
Mößle
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000728:Androgens / Q000378:metabolism; D019540:Area Under Curve; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D005385:Fingers / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012372:ROC Curve; D015398:Signal Transduction; D018910:Video Games; D055815:Young Adult
D000728:Androgens