Problematic internet use is associated with structural alterations in the brain reward system in females
Abstract
Neuroimaging findings suggest that excessive Internet use shows functional and structural brain changes similar to substance addiction. Even though it is still under debate whether there are gender differences in case of problematic use, previous studies by-passed this question by focusing on males only or by using gender matched approach without controlling for potential gender effects. We designed our study to find out whether there are structural correlates in the brain reward system of problematic Internet use in habitual Internet user females. T1-weighted Magnetic Resonance (MR) images were collected in 82 healthy habitual Internet user females. Structural brain measures were investigated using both automated MR volumetry and voxel based morphometry (VBM). Self-reported measures of problematic Internet use and hours spent online were also assessed. According to MR volumetry, problematic Internet use was associated with increased grey matter volume of bilateral putamen and right nucleus accumbens while decreased grey matter volume of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Similarly, VBM analysis revealed a significant negative association between the absolute amount of grey matter OFC and problematic Internet use. Our findings suggest structural brain alterations in the reward system usually related to addictions are present in problematic Internet use.
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Internet addiction is associated with increased grey matter volume in the bilateral putamen and right nucleus accumbens and decreased grey matter volume in the orbitofrontal cortex.
“Internet addiction has increased grey matter volume in the bilateral putamen and right nucleus accumbens and decreased grey matter volume in the orbitofrontal cortex, a part of the prefrontal cortex [31].”
From Social Media Algorithms and Teen Addiction: Neurophysiological Impact and Ethical Considerations (2025) · cites this paper as [31]
The Discussion (p. 9) reports the stated increases in grey matter volume in the bilateral putamen and right nucleus accumbens and decrease in the orbitofrontal cortex. However, the study examined associations with problematic Internet use in a non-clinical sample of habitual Internet-user females (Introduction, p. 4), not diagnosed Internet addiction generally. (LLM, conf=0.88)
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“In addition, an increase in grey matter volume in the bilateral putamen and right nucleus accumbens and a decrease in grey matter volume in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) have also been reported in people with problematic internet use (Altb ¨ acker et al., 2016).”
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“Internet addiction has increased grey matter volume in the bilateral putamen and right nucleus accumbens and decreased grey matter volume in the orbitofrontal cortex, a part of the prefrontal cortex [31].”
- Authors
- Altbäcker, A., Plózer, E., Darnai, G., Perlaki, G., Horváth, R., Orsi, G., Nagy, S. A., Bogner, P., Schwarcz, A., Kovács, N., Komoly, S., Clemens, Z., & Janszky, J.
- Affiliations
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology (HU)
- University of Pecs (HU)
- Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HU)
- Országos Idegsebészeti Tudományos Intézet (HU)
- Corresponding author
- Altbäcker, Anna
- ORCID
- Venue
- Brain Imaging and Behavior
- Published
- 2015-09-23
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 953-959
- ISSN
- 1931-7557 (ISSN-L)
- 1931-7565
- OpenAlex
- W1790528258
- Cited by
- 42
- References
- 51
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 2
- FWCI
- 6.62
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Brain Imaging and Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Repository of the Academy's Library (Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) (acceptedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Gambling Behavior and Treatments
- Keywords
- problematic internet use, internet addiction, brain reward system, gray matter volume, orbitofrontal cortex, putamen, nucleus accumbens, sex differences, voxel-based morphometry, volumetric MRI
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Brain, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Middle Aged, Neural Pathways, Organ Size, Pattern Recognition, Automated, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Surveys and Questionnaires, Reward, Behavior, Addictive, Internet, Young Adult, Gray Matter
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