MESSAGE
| DATE | 2024-06-24 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] Medical proof of Smartphone disease...
|
press.rsna.org
Smartphone Addiction Creates Imbalance in Brain
RSNA
4–5 minutes
CHICAGO – Researchers have found an imbalance in the brain chemistry of
young people addicted to smartphones and the internet, according to a
study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society
of North America (RSNA).
According to a recent Pew Research Center study, 46 percent of Americans
say they could not live without their smartphones. While this sentiment
is clearly hyperbole, more and more people are becoming increasingly
dependent on smartphones and other portable electronic devices for news,
information, games, and even the occasional phone call.
Along with a growing concern that young people, in particular, may be
spending too much time staring into their phones instead of interacting
with others, come questions as to the immediate effects on the brain and
the possible long-term consequences of such habits.
Hyung Suk Seo, M.D., professor of neuroradiology at Korea University in
Seoul, South Korea, and colleagues used magnetic resonance spectroscopy
(MRS) to gain unique insight into the brains of smartphone- and
internet-addicted teenagers. MRS is a type of MRI that measures the
brain’s chemical composition.
The study involved 19 young people (mean age 15.5, 9 males) diagnosed
with internet or smartphone addiction and 19 gender- and age-matched
healthy controls. Twelve of the addicted youth received nine weeks of
cognitive behavioral therapy, modified from a cognitive therapy program
for gaming addiction, as part of the study.
Researchers used standardized internet and smartphone addiction tests to
measure the severity of internet addiction. Questions focused on the
extent to which internet and smartphone use affects daily routines,
social life, productivity, sleeping patterns and feelings.
“The higher the score, the more severe the addiction,” Dr. Seo said.
Dr. Seo reported that the addicted teenagers had significantly higher
scores in depression, anxiety, insomnia severity and impulsivity.
The researchers performed MRS exams on the addicted youth prior to and
following behavioral therapy and a single MRS study on the control
patients to measure levels of gamma aminobutyric acid, or GABA, a
neurotransmitter in the brain that inhibits or slows down brain signals,
and glutamate-glutamine (Glx), a neurotransmitter that causes neurons to
become more electrically excited. Previous studies have found GABA to be
involved in vision and motor control and the regulation of various brain
functions, including anxiety.
The results of the MRS revealed that, compared to the healthy controls,
the ratio of GABA to Glx was significantly increased in the anterior
cingulate cortex of smartphone- and internet-addicted youth prior to
therapy.
Dr. Seo said the ratios of GABA to creatine and GABA to glutamate were
significantly correlated to clinical scales of internet and smartphone
addictions, depression and anxiety.
Having too much GABA can result in a number of side effects, including
drowsiness and anxiety.
More study is needed to understand the clinical implications of the
findings, but Dr. Seo believes that increased GABA in the anterior
cingulate gyrus in internet and smartphone addiction may be related to
the functional loss of integration and regulation of processing in the
cognitive and emotional neural network.
The good news is GABA to Glx ratios in the addicted youth significantly
decreased or normalized after cognitive behavioral therapy.
“The increased GABA levels and disrupted balance between GABA and
glutamate in the anterior cingulate cortex may contribute to our
understanding the pathophysiology of and treatment for addictions,” Dr.
Seo said.
Co-authors are Eun-Kee Jeong, Ph.D., Sungwon Choi, Yunna Kwon, Hae-Jeong
Park, and InSeong Kim.
--
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