Reduced orbitofrontal cortical thickness in male adolescents with internet addiction

Soon Beom Hong, Jae-Won Kim, Eun Jung Choi, Ho Hyun Kim, Jeong Eun Suh, Chang Dai Kim, Paul Klauser, Sarah Whittle, Murat Yucel, Christos Pantelis, Soon Hyung Yi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

97 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) has consistently been implicated in the pathology of both drug and behavioral addictions. However, no study to date has examined OFC thickness in internet addiction. In the current study, we investigated the existence of differences in cortical thickness of the OFC in adolescents with internet addiction. On the basis of recently proposed theoretical models of addiction, we predicted a reduction of thickness in the OFC of internet addicted individuals.Findings: Participants were 15 male adolescents diagnosed as having internet addiction and 15 male healthy comparison subjects. Brain magnetic resonance images were acquired on a 3T MRI and group differences in cortical thickness were analyzed using FreeSurfer. Our results confirmed that male adolescents with internet addiction have significantly decreased cortical thickness in the right lateral OFC (p
Original languageEnglish
Article number11
Pages (from-to)1 - 5
Number of pages5
JournalBehavioral and Brain Functions
Volume9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013
Externally publishedYes

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