Teens who can’t put down their smartphones could have a brain imbalance, according to a small but provocative study.
Researchers in South Korea used magnetic resonance spectroscopy
— a scan to measure biochemical changes in the brain — to look inside subjects’ heads.
They found that brain chemistry of adolescents who were addicted to
smartphones and the internet was different from nondependent peers.
Addiction was determined through questionnaires about internet and
smartphone usage and daily routines social life, productivity, sleeping
patterns and feelings.
“The higher the score, the more severe the addiction,” said study leader Hyung Suk Seo, M.D., professor of neuroradiology at Korea University in Seoul.
The study involved 38 teenaged participants — divided equally between
addicts and healthy subjects. Dependent teens were found to have higher
levels of a chemical that slows brain activity than the non-addicted
group.
Seo reported that the addicted teenagers had significantly higher
scores in depression, anxiety, insomnia severity and impulsivity.
The good news from the study — presented Thursday at the Radiological
Society of North America annual meeting — is that with cognitive therapy
the imbalance appeared to correct itself.
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