According to a recent study, addiction to the Internet might cause the same changes to the brain that occur with alcoholism and cocaine addiction.

The study involved 17 Chinese teenagers who were given MRI brain scans.  The results of the study, which were published in the journal PLoS One, found that teens who were self-described Internet addicts had abnormal amounts of “white matter” surrounding the wiring between some neurons in the brain.  The teenagers with brain abnormalities admitted to being preoccupied with the Internet and to being unable to control their use of the Internet.  They also said they felt depressed, restless and irritable when they tried cut down on their use.

According to Jonathan Wallis, associate professor of neuroscience and psychology at UC Berkeley, the areas of the brain that the study pinpointed are known to be involved with compulsive behavior and addiction.  Gordon Harris, a professor of radiology …