by Anna Medaris MillerOriginal Source: insider.comBeing glued to your iPhone and feeling naked without it is a lot more socially acceptable than experiencing the same pull to cocaine, but new research suggests addiction to both devices and substances have a similarly detrimental effect on key parts of the brain.The study, out of several universities and research centers in Europe, compared 22 18- to 30-year-olds who met criteria for smartphone addiction to 26 people who did not. Using MRIs, the researchers looked at the size and activity levels of certain brain regions.They found that those who were considered smartphone addicts had lower gray matter volume — a measure of brain cells — in several areas, including the left anterior insula, which has been "robustly associated" to substance addictions, the researchers write.The team also found the more highly people scored on a scale measuring...click here to continue reading