Gray matter abnormalities in Internet addiction: a voxel-based morphometry study.
BACKGROUND
This study aims to investigate brain gray matter density (GMD) changes in adolescents with Internet addiction (IA) using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis on high-resolution T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance images.


METHODS
Eighteen IA adolescents and 15 age- and gender-matched healthy controls took part in this study. High-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans were performed on the two groups. VBM analysis was used to compare the GMD between the two groups.


RESULTS
Compared with healthy controls, IA adolescents had lower GMD in the left anterior cingulate cortex, left posterior cingulate cortex, left insula, and left lingual gyrus.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggested that brain structural changes were present in IA adolescents, and this finding may provide a new insight into the pathogenesis of IA.
Zhou
Yan
Y
Department of Radiology, RenJi Hospital, Jiao Tong University Medical School, Shanghai 200127, PR China. clare1475@hotmail.com
Lin
Fu-Chun
FC
Du
Ya-Song
YS
Qin
Ling-di
LD
Zhao
Zhi-Min
ZM
Xu
Jian-Rong
JR
Lei
Hao
H
D000293:Adolescent; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000453:epidemiology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D015994:Incidence; D020407:Internet; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires