TV, computer addicts prone to depression: study

NIDA DAR

KARACHI: Sitting in front of a computer or TV screen late into the night or leaving it on when you fall asleep could increase your chances of becoming depressed, according to a study by US scientists.

The study, by a team of neuroscientists at Ohio State University Medical Center partly funded by the US Department of Defense, will give screen-addicted night owls pause for thought.

Researchers exposed hamsters to dim light at night and picked up changes in behavior and the brain that bore striking similarities to symptoms in depressed people.

A surge in exposure to artificial light at night in the last 50 years had coincided with
rising rates of depression, particularly among women, who are twice as prone as men.

“The results we found in hamsters are consistent with what we know about depression in
humans,” said Tracy Bedrosian, who led the study, published in the journal Molecular
Psychiatry.

The hamsters involved in the experiment were exposed for four weeks to dim light at night -
equivalent to a television screen in a darkened room - and the results compared to a control
group exposed to a normal light-dark cycle.

The experimental group was then moved back onto a normal cycle for one, two or four weeks
before they were tested.

The results showed they were less active and had a lower than usual interest in drinking
sugar water - both symptoms are similar to signs of depression in people.

The similarity extended to their biological make-up.

The researchers found changes in the hippocampus - a part of the brain - that were
consistent with people suffering depression.

“The good news is that people who stay up late in front of the television and computer may
be able to undo some of the harmful effects just by going back to a regular light-dark cycle
and minimizing their exposure to artificial light at night,” Bedrosian said.