Internet addiction “rewires” adolescent brains

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.”

Originally published by Talker News