Internet addiction disrupts nerve wiring in the brains of teenagers, a study by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan has found, the Changjiang Daily reported.

Scientists used a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technique to look at internet addiction's effects on brain structure.

Brain scans showed significant damage to white matter in the brain, proving that "behavioral" addictions can cause physical brain damage in the same way as drug addictions.

The scientists suspect the damage is caused by disrupted myelin, the fatty insulating sheath that coats nerve fibers and helps them to function.

(China.org.cn January 14, 2012)

中國科學(xué)院（武漢）的一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，網(wǎng)癮會(huì)擾亂青少年的腦神經(jīng)。

據(jù)《長江日?qǐng)?bào)》報(bào)道，科學(xué)家利用磁共振成像技術(shù)來觀察網(wǎng)癮對(duì)大腦結(jié)構(gòu)的影響。

掃描發(fā)現(xiàn)，大腦中的白質(zhì)出現(xiàn)嚴(yán)重?fù)p傷，由此驗(yàn)證了“行為上癮”和毒品上癮一樣會(huì)使大腦出現(xiàn)物理損傷。

科學(xué)家懷疑，該損傷可能緣起髓鞘受損。據(jù)了解，髓鞘是一種包裹在神經(jīng)纖維外面使其與外界隔離并幫助其發(fā)揮功能的脂肪。