GUWAHATI: A new study has found internet addiction disrupts brain networks responsible for attention and decision-making.
It said that disruptions in brain signaling impact behaviours and development in adolescents.
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Published on June 4 in PLOS Mental Health, the study indicates that internet addiction is associated with disrupted signaling in the regions of the brain that are involved in multiple neural networks.
Lead author, MSc student, Max Chang (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute for Child Health) said: “Adolescence is a crucial developmental stage during which people go through significant changes in their biology, cognition, and personalities. As a result, the brain is particularly vulnerable to internet addiction related urges during this time, such as compulsive internet usage, cravings towards usage of the mouse or keyboard and consuming media.
“The findings from our study show that this can lead to potentially negative behavioural and developmental changes that could impact the lives of adolescents. For example, they may struggle to maintain relationships and social activities, lie about online activity and experience irregular eating and disrupted sleep.”
Senior author, Irene Lee (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health), said: “There is no doubt that the internet has certain advantages. However, when it begins to affect our day-to-day lives, it is a problem.
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“We would advise that young people enforce sensible time limits for their daily internet usage and ensure that they are aware of the psychological and social implications of spending too much time online.”
Chang added: “We hope our findings will demonstrate how internet addiction alters the connection between the brain networks in adolescence, allowing physicians to screen and treat the onset of internet addiction more effectively.
“Clinicians could potentially prescribe treatment to aim at certain brain regions or suggest psychotherapy or family therapy targeting key symptoms of internet addiction.
“Importantly, parental education on internet addiction is another possible avenue of prevention from a public health standpoint. Parents who are aware of the early signs and onset of internet addiction will more effectively handle screen time, impulsivity, and minimise the risk factors surrounding internet addiction.”
Internet use has been rising rapidly among adolescents who spend a significant of time online. This has led to increased internet addiction among adolescents.
The literature review focused on 12 neuroimaging studies of adolescents with internet addiction that had examined changes in the connectivity between brain networks, which work in concert to govern important behaviours and development in adolescents.
The neuroimaging studies were all conducted in Asia, despite many cases of internet addiction in the West.
In all of the reviewed studies, when teenagers with internet addiction engaged in activities governed by the brain’s executive control network (e.g. behaviours requiring attention, planning, decision-making, and especially impulsivity), those brain regions showed a significant disruption in their ability to work together compared to those in individuals of the same age without internet addiction.
The authors add: “Understanding how and where internet addiction affects the functional connectivity in the brains of adolescents as well as replicating fMRI studies with multiple populations can guide future global therapeutic and public health interventions.”