美專家:網癮少年大腦容易萎縮
在這個網絡氾濫的年代，各式各樣的智能手機、社交網絡讓爆炸化的信息充斥着我們的生活，我們的生活因網絡變得緊密，與此同時，我們的生活也因網絡而愈漸疏遠。有消息稱，青少年過度使用英特網會損害部分大腦功能，科學家發現了濫用網絡的青少年的大腦中有萎縮的灰質成分，隨着使用網絡的時間增長，萎縮的灰質部分有增大的趨勢。專家稱，這會影響他們的注意力以及記憶力，還有決策力。
Researchers took MRI brain scans from 18 university students, aged 19, who spent eight to 13 hours a day playing games online, six days a week. The students were classified as internet addicts after answering eight questions, including whether they had tried to give up using computers and whether they had lied to family members about the amount of time they spent online. The researchers compared them with a control group of 18 students who spent fewer than two hours a day on the internet.
研究員針對18名年齡爲19歲的大學生進行腦部核磁共振成像分析，這些學生每週至少有6天玩網絡遊戲的時間從8小時到13小時不等，而這些孩子又被認定爲不同程度上的“網絡上癮症”。此外，這些孩子被要求回答許多問答題，題目包括他們何時曾經試圖“戒網”？或者是否對父母撒謊自己網上游戲的時間程度。專家拿這些“網癮”孩子的數據與另一組相對比較少上網的孩子做對比。
One set of MRI images focused on grey matter at the brain’s wrinkled surface, or cortex, where the processing of memory, emotions, speech, sight, hearing and motor control occurs. Comparing grey matter between the two groups revealed atrophy within several small regions of all the online addicts’ brains. The scans showed that the longer their internet addiction continued, the ‘more serious’ the damage was.
對比後發現，兩組青少年在腦部核磁共振成像圖上有較大區別，（大腦皮層是獨特而深深的由溝回組成的表面，它可以組成灰質），“網癮少年”的大腦在記憶力區、情感區、語言區、視力區、和聽力區等相比另一組青少年來說相對都較差。
‘Our results suggested long-term internet addiction would result in brain structural alterations,’ they said. The study, published in the PLoS ONE journal, was carried out by neuroscientists and radiologists at universities and hospitals in China, where 24million youths are estimated to be addicted to the internet. In Britain, children spend an average of five hours and 20 minutes a day in front of TV or computer screens, according to estimates by the market-research agency Childwise.
專家說：“我們的研究發現，長時間的網癮生活習慣會徹底改變大腦的整體結構。這項研究結果發表在《公共科學圖書館·綜合》期刊上。網癮問題在中國青少年中必須引起廣泛的重視，因爲在中國，有240萬年輕人深陷網絡而不可自拔。而在英國，孩子們平均每日花5個小時20分鐘的時間用在電子產品上，網癮造成的負面影響不容忽視。”
