With the growing popularity of short video platforms, it is increasingly common to hear that addiction to their use may affect the brain..

The effects on behavior are already recognized - including that students become less attentive to learning - but the underlying neural and biological mechanisms remain poorly understood.. To address this gap, researchers from Tianjin Normal University in China conducted a study to find out how short video addiction can change the brain.. And identify specific genes that may influence susceptibility to this behavior pattern, writes Psy Post.

The study involved 111 college students between the ages of 17 and 30, all of whom were regular users of short-form video platforms such as TikTok. Participants were carefully selected to exclude those with a history of neurological or psychiatric disorders, ensuring that the results could be attributed to the behavioral effects of short video consumption rather than to existing medical conditions.

Scientists believe that personality traits such as dispositional envy, which causes negative emotions in response to social comparisons, arise from excessive use of social networks. Therefore, the researchers were interested in whether a psychological risk factor for addiction to short video platforms could be. Dispositional envy was measured using a standard instrument that measures people's tendency to feel resentment or distress when comparing themselves to others..

To investigate the neurological aspects of short video addiction, researchers collected high-resolution brain imaging data using MRI. These scans provided insight into two key areas: structural changes in the brain, such as differences in gray matter volume, and functional activity, particularly regional homogeneity, which measures the timing of neural activity in a specific area. Statistical methods were then used to analyze how these brain characteristics correlated with participants' levels of addiction to short videos.

Researchers have observed structural and functional differences in the brains of people with high levels of short-form video addiction.. Structurally, these people showed increased gray matter volume in the orbitofrontal cortex and cerebellum, an area involved in reward processing, decision making, and emotional regulation.. Increased volume in this region suggests increased sensitivity to rewards provided by personalized short video content, potentially increasing compulsive viewing behavior. Likewise, changes in the cerebellum, which is traditionally associated with motor control but is increasingly recognized for its role in cognitive and emotional processing, have been linked to the sensory-rich, dynamic nature of short videos.

Functionally, researchers observed increased neural activity in several regions, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, temporal pole, and cerebellum.. These areas are involved in decision making, self-referential thinking, and emotional regulation.. Increased activity in these regions suggests that short-video addiction may influence both the brain's rewards and its ability to regulate attention and emotion..

The study also highlighted the role of dispositional envy as a psychological factor associated with short video addiction. Participants with higher levels of envy were more likely to report compulsive use of short video platforms. This connection was mediated by changes in specific brain regions, such as the cerebellum and temporal pole, involved in processing social and emotional information.. These results suggest that people prone to envy may turn to short video platforms to cope with feelings of inadequacy.

At the genetic level, researchers have identified more than 500 genes associated with brain changes that occur due to addiction to short videos. These genes were mainly involved in synaptic signaling and neural communication, processes essential for communication and brain plasticity.

The scientists emphasized that many of these genes were expressed during adolescence.. This finding highlights that adolescence is a particularly vulnerable period for the development of behaviors such as short video addiction.

Although the study provides important information, it cannot be said with certainty that there is a cause-and-effect relationship - that is, whether brain changes lead to addiction or are it a consequence of it.. Future research may clarify this.