Comparing the neuroendocrine hormone levels and psychophysiological parameters between excessive game players and normal people

Computer games have become an increasing part of many young people´s daily lives. Excessive gaming may become a kind of behaviored addiction similar to gambling and may turn to a biological addiction. In order to accept this hypothesis there should be significant difference between the subject groups which points out to the dopaminergic reward system. As a result of our study, excessive game players showed higher skin conductance fluctuations and increased heart rate than non-excessive players. During game sessions cortisol hormone levels and heart rate fluctuations decreased in both groups. However, we found that there is a negative correlation between beta-endorphin and skin conductance fluctuations and pozitive correlation between heart rate mean and dopamine. These correlations may contribute to the behaviored addiction hypothesis and be a step to understand the mechanisms underlying the excessive game playing.