Altered Functional Connectivity of the Salience Network in Problematic Smartphone Users.

Jaeun Ahn,Deokjong Lee,Kee Namkoong,Young-Chul Jung

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.636730

Abstract

Smartphones provide convenience in everyday life. Smartphones, however, can elicit adverse effects when used excessively. The purpose of this study was to examine the underlying neurobiological alterations that arise from problematic smartphone use. We performed resting state seed-based functional connectivity (FC) analysis of 44 problematic smartphone users and 54 healthy controls. This analysis assessed the salience, central executive, default mode, and affective networks. Compared to controls, problematic smartphone users showed enhanced FC within the salience network and between the salience and default mode network. Moreover, we observed decreased FC between the salience and central executive network in problematic smartphone users, compared to controls. These results imply that problematic smartphone use is associated with aberrant FC in key brain networks. Our results suggest that changes in FC of key networks centered around the salience network might be associated with problematic smartphone use.

Highlights

For the past two decades, smartphones have radically changed human lives, becoming ubiquitous in everyday life [1, 2]
We investigated alterations in functional connectivity (FC) among core intrinsic connectivity networks in problematic smartphone users based on regions of interest in these core networks
Affective Network Compared to the control group, problematic smartphone users exhibited stronger FC between the amygdala and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

Summary

Introduction

For the past two decades, smartphones have radically changed human lives, becoming ubiquitous in everyday life [1, 2]. Smartphones have brought about changes to various areas of life, such as productivity, information seeking, social information and interaction, diversion, relaxation, entertainment, monetary compensation, and personal status [3]. With greater integration of smartphones into daily lives, concerns for psychological and behavioral dysfunction due to problematic smartphone use have begun to accumulate [4, 5]. The clinical characteristics of problematic smartphone use share conceptual similarities with typical addictive disorders [6]. While numerous attempts have been made to identify neural correlates undergirding behavioral addiction, Salience Network in PSU most studies have been published on gambling and Internet gaming disorder; neural correlates responsible for problematic smartphone usage remain largely unknown

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion