Neurological Case Study Essay

Neurological case studies were performed by Griffiths, Young, Turel, Serenko, and Giles to identify the cause of addictive-like behavior towards social media. The study focused namely on “Facebook,” the physical anatomy and structures of the brain cortex, and overall neurological system. Each scientist questioned whether or not “...Facebook addiction constitute[s] a pathological problem similar to those observed in the case of other substance and behavioral addictions in the general user population.” The scientists then hypothesized that an irregular distribution of homeostasis in the inhibitory and impulsive controlled regions of the brain are responsible for the addictive-like behaviors evoked from the use of Facebook; for this is the independent variable of the study. The dependent variable of the

The screenings focused specifically on the inhibitory regions of the brain which includes the amygdala-striatal cortex, and the reflective inhibitory prefrontal brain system. The examined group was asked to complete a survey based on a 1 - 5 scale (1 meaning Never, 5 meaning Very Often) stating how critical their addictive symptoms affected them, such as lack of self control and withdrawals, and how conflicted they become in the absence of Facebook. One week after each individual successfully completed the questionnaire, they were requested to perform a “Facebook go/ sign no go” experiment where they were to click a Facebook related image, and avoid clicking a traffic sign related image. This test allows the screening to view reactions amongst both the inhibitor and impulsive regions of the brain. The experiment consisted a randomized order of 120 (75%) go trials and 40 (25%) no-go trials that allowed each individual 1.5-4 seconds to process each trial before a response was