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发帖数: 29846 | 1 Internet addiction has for the first time been linked with changes in the
brain similar to those seen in people addicted to alcohol, cocaine and
cannabis. In a groundbreaking study, researchers used MRI scanners to reveal
abnormalities in the brains of adolescents who spent many hours on the
internet, to the detriment of their social and personal lives. The finding
could throw light on other behavioural problems and lead to the development
of new approaches to treatment, researchers said.
An estimated 5 to 10 per cent of internet users are thought to be addicted
– meaning they are unable to control their use. The majority are games
players who become so absorbed in the activity they go without food or drink
for long periods and their education, work and relationships suffer.
Henrietta Bowden Jones, consultant psychiatrist at Imperial College, London,
who runs Britain's only NHS clinic for internet addicts and problem
gamblers, said: "The majority of people we see with serious internet
addiction are gamers – people who spend long hours in roles in various
games that cause them to disregard their obligations. I have seen people who
stopped attending university lectures, failed their degrees or their
marriages broke down because they were unable to emotionally connect with
anything outside the game."
Although most of the population was spending longer online, that was not
evidence of addiction, she said. "It is different. We are doing it because
modern life requires us to link up over the net in regard to jobs,
professional and social connections – but not in an obsessive way. When
someone comes to you and says they did not sleep last night because they
spent 14 hours playing games, and it was the same the previous night, and
they tried to stop but they couldn't – you know they have a problem. It
does tend to be the gaming that catches people out."
Researchers in China scanned the brains of 17 adolescents diagnosed with "
internet addiction disorder" who had been referred to the Shanghai Mental
Health Centre, and compared the results with scans from 16 of their peers.
The results showed impairment of white matter fibres in the brain connecting
regions involved in emotional processing, attention, decision making and
cognitive control. Similar changes to the white matter have been observed in
other forms of addiction to substances such as alcohol and cocaine.
"The findings suggest that white matter integrity may serve as a potential
new treatment target in internet addiction disorder," they say in the online
journal Public Library of Science One. The authors acknowledge that they
cannot tell whether the brain changes are the cause or the consequence of
the internet addiction. It could be that young people with the brain changes
observed are more prone to becoming addicted.
Professor Michael Farrell, director of the National Drug and Alcohol
Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Australia, said: "The
limitations [of this study] are that it is not controlled, and it's possible
that illicit drugs, alcohol or other caffeine-based stimulants might
account for the changes. The specificity of 'internet addiction disorder' is
also questionable."
Case studies: Caught in the web
Xbox addict killed by blood clot after 12-hour sessions
Chris Staniforth, 20, died of a blood clot after spending up to 12 hours at
a time playing on his Xbox. Despite having no history of ill health, he
developed deep vein thrombosis – commonly associated with long-haul flight
passengers. Mr Staniforth, from Sheffield, had been offered a place to study
game design at the University of Leicester. But he collapsed while telling
a friend he'd been having pains in his chest.
Toddler starved to death while mother played online
A mother was jailed for 25 years after her daughter starved to death while
she played an online game for hours at a time. Rebecca Colleen Christie, 28,
from New Mexico in the US, played the fantasy game World of Warcraft while
her three-year-old daughter, Brandi, starved. The toddler weighed just 23lbs
when she was finally rushed to hospital after her mother found her limp and
unconscious.
Woman jailed after gamble fails to pay off
A woman who stole £76,000 from a company to fund her internet gambling
addiction was jailed this week. Lucienne Mainey, 41, from Cambridgeshire,
was sentenced to 16 months in prison at Ipswich Crown Court after admitting
fraud. The court heard she secretly paid herself by changing old invoices.
Mainey turned to internet bingo following the breakdown of her marriage. |
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