Study: Internet Feeds Delusions

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - The Internet appears to have infiltrated yet another aspect of modern life, the delusions of the actively psychotic, a new study shows.

University of South Florida researchers who published their findings in last month's Southern Medical Journal, cited case studies as evidence that fears of the Internet are replacing Communists, the CIA and the controlling power of radio waves as a frequent delusion of new psychiatric patients. Every case of Internet delusion documented by the researchers involved people who actually had little experience with computers, said Dr. Glenn Catalano, the USF psychiatrist who authored the report.

``That's not really surprising,'' said Catalano, 37. ``Things can seem especially threatening when you don't know much about them.''

One of the cases cited by the USF doctors involved a 40-year-old man who shot himself in the face in an unsuccessful suicide attempt. He believed a friend had placed Internet bugs in his ears that could read his mind and control his thoughts. He also believed someone had placed a link between his Web page and his extremities. When certain keys were hit, he said, his extremities would jump.

Catalano said he has seen several other cases of Internet-related delusions in the last 18 months and believed an increasing number of new patients will suffer from these fantasies. Given their frequency, he said, he was surprised to discover that his report apparently is the first to document the phenomenon. ``We're going to have to start asking different kinds of questions to determine the source of patients' paranoia,'' he said. ``You can't just ask if someone is following you.

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