Microstructure abnormalities in adolescents with internet addiction disorder.
Yuan K, Qin W, Wang G, Zeng F, Zhao L, Yang X, Liu P, Liu J, Sun J, von Deneen KM, Gong Q, Liu Y, Tian J. · 2011
View Original AbstractInternet addiction in teens correlates with measurable brain structure changes, raising concerns about cumulative digital device exposure during critical development.
Plain English Summary
Researchers used brain imaging to study 18 adolescents with internet addiction disorder, comparing their brain structure to healthy controls. They found significant changes in brain regions responsible for decision-making, impulse control, and emotional regulation, with more severe structural changes linked to longer periods of internet addiction. These findings suggest that excessive internet use may physically alter developing brains in ways that could impair cognitive function.
Why This Matters
While this study doesn't directly measure EMF exposure, it provides crucial insight into how digital device overuse affects brain development in adolescents. The structural changes observed in regions like the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex are particularly concerning because these areas don't fully mature until the mid-twenties. What makes this research especially relevant to EMF health discussions is that internet addiction inevitably involves prolonged exposure to radiofrequency radiation from devices like smartphones, tablets, and WiFi routers. The dose-response relationship the researchers found between duration of internet use and brain changes suggests that cumulative exposure matters. This adds another layer of concern about the developing brain's vulnerability to our increasingly connected digital environment.
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
The aim of this study is to investigate Microstructure abnormalities in adolescents with internet addiction disorder.
We investigated the morphology of the brain in adolescents with IAD (N = 18) using an optimized voxe...
We provided evidences demonstrating the multiple structural changes of the brain in IAD subjects. VB...
Our results suggested that long-term internet addiction would result in brain structural alterations, which probably contributed to chronic dysfunction in subjects with IAD. The current study may shed further light on the potential brain effects of IAD.
Show BibTeX
@article{k_2011_microstructure_abnormalities_in_adolescents_2695,
author = {Yuan K and Qin W and Wang G and Zeng F and Zhao L and Yang X and Liu P and Liu J and Sun J and von Deneen KM and Gong Q and Liu Y and Tian J.},
title = {Microstructure abnormalities in adolescents with internet addiction disorder.},
year = {2011},
url = {https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0020708},
}