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Internet addiction
affects brain areas involved in memory, emotions and more
Internet addiction rewires teenagers' brains and may make
them more likely to engage in other addictive behaviour, new research suggests.
Signalling between different areas of the brain related to
controlling attention and understanding our own emotions were altered in
youngsters addicted to being online, say scientists.
Their findings, published in the journal PLOS Mental Health, indicate that internet addiction is
associated with disrupted signalling in the regions of the brain involved in
multiple neural networks.
Study co-author Max Chang said: 'These networks play an
important role in controlling our attention, in association with intellectual
ability, working memory, physical coordination, and emotional processing.
'All of which in turn have an impact on mental health.'
Internet addiction rewires teenagers' brains and may make
them more likely to engage in other addictive behaviour, new research suggests
(file photo) © Provided by Daily Mail
Mr Chang, an associate researcher at University College
London (UCL), added: 'Internet use has been skyrocketing, with adolescents
spending more and more of their waking hours online.
'With this has come an increase in adolescent internet
addiction.
'Given that adolescent brains are more capable of changing
than those of adults, understanding the effects of internet addiction on the
brain and behaviour is vital for society as a whole.'
Study: Teens at highest
risk for internet addiction
Mr Chang and UCL colleague Irene Lee reviewed neuroimaging
studies of the effects of internet addiction on the brains of young people.
The literature review focused on 12 neuroimaging studies of
internet addicted adolescents that had examined changes in the connectivity
between brain networks, which work in concert to govern important behaviours
and development.
The neuroimaging studies that met the team's criteria in
terms of age range and formal diagnosis of internet addiction were all
conducted in Asia, despite many cases of internet addiction in the West.
The literature review focused on 12 neuroimaging studies of internet addicted adolescents that had examined changes in the connectivity between brain networks© Provided by Daily Mail
In all of the reviewed studies, when internet addicted
teenagers engaged in activities governed by the brain's executive control
network – such as behaviour requiring attention, planning, decision-making, and
especially impulsivity – those brain regions showed a 'significant' disruption
in their ability to work together.
Mr Chang said: 'When engaging the default mode network,
results varied more – however, functional connectivity was often reported to be
disrupted during tasks that needed self-introspection and attention.
'Such signalling changes could mean that these behaviours
can become more difficult to perform, which could potentially impact
development and well-being.
'The present answers merely paint an unfinished picture that
does not necessarily depict internet usage as overwhelmingly positive or
negative.'
He says further studies that include more people from a
wider population are needed to confirm how internet addiction changes the way
in which the brain controls behaviour and therefore our general well-being.
Mr Chang added: 'Understanding how and where internet
addiction affects the functional connectivity in the brains of adolescents as
well as replicating MRI studies with multiple populations can guide future
global therapeutic and public health interventions.'
But Professor David Ellis, behavioural scientist in the
University of Bath's Institute for Digital Security and Behaviour, who was not
involved in the study, urged caution over its results.
He warned that 'measurement of internet 'addiction' is
neither universally accepted and certainly not diagnosable using the survey
instruments used in the studies included as part of the review'.
He added 'any associations between functional connectivity
and internet 'addiction' are at the mercy of multiple cofounders.
'This makes drawing strong conclusions from the papers
reviewed almost impossible,' Professor Ellis said.
Children addicted to video games are attacking their PARENTS
- and taking away their console only makes them MORE aggressive, experts warn
Parents shouldn't take away consoles from children who show
signs of gaming addiction because it could lead to physical violence, a
psychologist has warned.
Professor Henrietta Bowden-Jones, head of the National
Centre for Gaming Disorders, says it can become a police matter when kids lose
access to gaming.
The centre – which along with the World Health Organization recognises gaming addiction
as a disorder – is seeing teens who are gaming up to 14 hours a day.
Children are hooked on Call of Duty, Fortnite, FIFA, Angry Birds, War
Zone and Minecraft, but no game is necessarily more addictive than any
other.
According to the centre's founder, it has dealt with 745
patients since it opened in October 2019, including 327 last years.
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