Abstract
As smartphone use has grown rapidly over recent decade, it has been a growing interest in the potential negative impact of excessive smartphone use. In this study, we aim to identify altered brain connectivity associated with excessive smartphone use, and to investigate correlations between withdrawal symptoms, cortisol concentrations, and frontostriatal connectivity. We focused on investigating functional connectivity in frontostriatal regions, including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), midcingulate cortex (MCC), and nucleus accumbens (NAcc), which is related to reward processing and cognitive control. We analyzed data from 38 adolescents with excessive smartphone use (SP) and 42 healthy controls (HC). In the SP group compared with HC, we observed lower functional connectivity between the right OFC and NAcc, and between the left OFC and MCC. Moreover, functional connectivity between the MCC and NAcc was greater in SP compared with HC. Subsequently, we examined the relationship between Internet use withdrawal symptoms, cortisol concentrations, and functional connectivity between the OFC and NAcc in SP and HC. We observed that more severe withdrawal symptoms were associated with higher cortisol concentrations in adolescents with excessive smartphone use. The most interesting finding was that we observed a negative correlation between OFC connectivity with the NAcc and both withdrawal symptoms and cortisol concentrations. The functional connectivity between the OFC and NAcc, and between the OFC and MCC are related to cognitive control of emotional stimuli including reward. The current study suggests that adolescents with SP had reduced functional connectivity in these regions related to cognitive control. Furthermore, Internet use withdrawal symptoms appear to elicit cortisol secretion, and this psychophysiological change may affect frontostriatal connectivity. Our findings provide important clues to understanding the effects of excessive use of smartphones on brain functional connectivity in adolescence.
Highlights
Following recent developments in mobile communication technology, smartphones have become a necessity of everyday life beyond simple interpersonal communication
Resting-state connectivity analysis allows us to identify altered intrinsic functional connectivity in brain regions associated with cognitive control and affectivemotivational processes in adolescents with excessive smartphone use [47]
We aimed to identify altered brain connectivity associated with excessive smartphone use, and investigated correlations among withdrawal symptoms, cortisol concentrations, and frontostriatal connectivity
Summary
Following recent developments in mobile communication technology, smartphones have become a necessity of everyday life beyond simple interpersonal communication. It is possible that emotional sensitivity and protracted development of cognitive control during adolescence may make those at this stage of life more reactive to emotion-arousing media [3]. A previous study reported that adolescents tend to use smartphones more often for Internet use than do adults, and they are more likely to be exposed to problematic smartphone use [4]. Cognitive neuroscience studies have used structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine how the adolescent brain changes over course of adolescence [3]. Given that brain regions involved in many social and cognitive functions are undergoing such broad changes during adolescence, it might be supposed that adolescents are greatly influenced by social interaction that occurs via the Internet
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
