Adolescents with Internet addiction show structural and resting-state functional brain alterations, including reduced gray matter density, reduced white matter FA, and decreased connectivity in DMN and CEN¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (3 entries) · review r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2021 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2026: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Internet-addicted adolescents had lower gray matter density in the left ACC and PCC, left insula, and left CG, with no white matter integrity differences. → Marciano Laura 2021 q3 i? Internet-addicted adolescents had significantly reduced FA in many white matter tracts, mainly due to increased radial diffusivity. → Marciano Laura 2021 (2) q3 i? Internet-addicted adolescents showed reduced functional connectivity in the DMN and a diminished interaction between the DMN and the SN. → Marciano Laura 2021 (3)

Evidence¶

Marciano Laura 2021¶

Marciano Laura, Camerini Anne-Linda, Morese Rosalba. (2021). The Developing Brain in the Digital Era: A Scoping Review of Structural and Functional Correlates of Screen Time in Adolescence. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.671817

q3 · i? · review · r3

VBM comparison of gray matter density between 18 Internet-addicted and 15 control 17-year-olds; reduced-density regions are linked by the review to emotional and behavioral problems. No effect size printed.

"The authors found that the Internet-addicted group had lower gray matter density in the left ACC and PCC, left insula, and left CG. However, no differences were found with regards to white matter integrity."

Marciano Laura 2021 (2)¶

Marciano Laura, Camerini Anne-Linda, Morese Rosalba. (2021). The Developing Brain in the Digital Era: A Scoping Review of Structural and Functional Correlates of Screen Time in Adolescence. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.671817

q3 · i? · review · r3

DTI study of 17 adolescents with Internet addiction and 16 controls aged 17; VOI analyses showed decreased FA was mainly due to increased radial diffusivity, reflecting destructed axons myelination. No effect size printed.

"Compared to the latter group, Internet addicts had significantly reduced FA in many white matter tracts, such as orbitofrontal tracts, corpus callosum, front-occipital fasciculus, anterior cingulum, corona radiata, internal and external capsule, and tracts of the precentral gyrus."

Marciano Laura 2021 (3)¶

Marciano Laura, Camerini Anne-Linda, Morese Rosalba. (2021). The Developing Brain in the Digital Era: A Scoping Review of Structural and Functional Correlates of Screen Time in Adolescence. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.671817

q3 · i? · associational · r?

Resting-state fMRI study of 26 15-year-olds with Internet addiction symptoms and 43 controls focusing on DMN, CEN, and SN; the group also showed reduced inter-hemispheric connectivity of the right CEN. No effect size printed.

"The group of Internet-addicted adolescents showed reduced functional connectivity in the DMN and a diminished interaction between the DMN and the SN."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Excessive smartphone use in adolescents is associated with reduced frontostriatal connectivity and greater cortisol-related withdrawal symptoms
• Internet-addicted adolescents show deficient response inhibition, failing to recruit the frontal-basal ganglia pathway engaged by controls
• Frequency of Internet use negatively predicts longitudinal change in gray and white matter volumes and in verbal IQ in early adolescents
• Frequent and longer screen-based media use, including Internet-related addictive behaviors, is related to a less efficient cognitive control system in adolescence
• Screen time is not significantly associated with white matter microstructure (FA, MD) in 10-year-olds, while sports participation is positively associated with FA — related