Background: Internet addiction is defined as excessive and uncontrollable use and is considered a growing phenomenon in society, with negative impacts on mental health and Brain functions, including deficits in executive functions and brain waves. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) has been introduced as an effective method for treating mental disorders, including behavioral addictions, but few studies have examined its effects on internet addiction and its characteristics.
Aim: This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on improving brain waves, hot and cold executive functions, and reducing symptoms in individuals addicted to the internet.
Methodology: This was a pre-test-post-test control group design study. The sampling method was convenient, and 28 male and female patients diagnosed with internet addiction with a mean age of 22.68 years were included using the Young Internet Addiction Test. Participants were randomly assigned to experimental (n=14) and control (n=14) groups. The experimental group received 8 weeks of MBCT treatment, while the control group received no intervention. Before and after the intervention, all participants underwent the Iowa Gambling Task, n-back, Go/No-Go task, and the Balloon Analog Risk Task to assess executive functions, and EEG was recorded to assess brain wave status.
Conclusions: The findings showed that in the experimental group, after MBCT intervention, there was a significant reduction in internet addiction symptoms (P < 0.05), improvement in cold executive functions such as working memory and inhibition control (P < 0.05), and an increase in the relative power of theta, alpha, and beta waves in central regions (P < 0.05). However, MBCT was not effective in improving hot executive functions such as risky decision-making and risk-taking (P > 0.05). These results indicate that MBCT can be used as an effective intervention to reduce the desire to use the Internet, improve cold