How Internet Addiction “Rewires” Teen Brains

By Stephen Beech via SWNS

Internet addiction rewires adolescent brains, new research suggests.

According to scientists, signaling between different areas of the brain linked to controlling attention and understanding our own emotions was impaired in young people addicted to being online.

Their findings, published in the journal PLOS Mental Health, indicate that Internet addiction is associated with disruption of signaling in brain regions 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 capacity, working memory, physical coordination and emotional processing – which all have an impact on mental health. »

Chang, a research associate at University College London (UCL), added: “Internet use has skyrocketed, with teenagers spending more and more of their waking hours online.

“This has been accompanied by an increase in adolescent Internet addiction.

“Given that adolescent brains are more capable of change than adult brains, understanding the effects of Internet addiction on the brain and behavior is vital to society as a whole.”

Chang and his UCL colleague Irene Lee looked at neuroimaging studies on the effects of internet addiction on young people's brains.

The literature review focused on 12 neuroimaging studies of Internet-addicted adolescents that examined changes in connectivity between brain networks, which work in concert to govern important behaviors and development.

The neuroimaging studies meeting the team's criteria for age range and formal diagnosis of Internet addiction were all conducted in Asia, despite many cases of Internet addiction in the West.

In all studies reviewed, when Internet-addicted adolescents engaged in activities governed by the brain's executive control network – such as behavior requiring attention, planning, decision-making, and especially impulsivity – these regions of the brain presented a “significant” disturbance in their activity. ability to work together.

Chang said: “When engaging the network in default mode, results varied more – however, functional connectivity was often reported to be disrupted during tasks requiring self-introspection and close attention.

“Such changes in signaling could mean that these behaviors could become more difficult to implement, which could potentially impact development and well-being.

“The current responses simply paint an incomplete picture that does not necessarily portray Internet use as overwhelmingly positive or negative. »

He says more studies including more people from a broader population are needed to confirm how Internet addiction changes the way the brain controls behavior and therefore our overall well-being.

Chang added: “Understanding how and where Internet addiction affects functional connectivity in the adolescent brain as well as replicating MRI studies with multiple populations can guide future global therapeutic and public health interventions. »

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