Structural and functional correlates of smartphone addiction

Horvath, Juliane; Mundinger, Christina; Schmitgen, Mike M.; Wolf, Nadine D.; Sambataro, Fabio; Hirjak, Dusan; Kubera, Katharina M.; Koenig, Julian; Christian Wolf, Robert (2020). Structural and functional correlates of smartphone addiction. Addictive behaviors, 105(106334), p. 106334. Elsevier 10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106334

[img] Text
1-s2.0-S0306460319313802-main.pdf - Published Version
Restricted to registered users only
Available under License Publisher holds Copyright.

Download (661kB)

Popularity and availability of smartphones have dramatically increased in the past years. This trend is accompanied by increased concerns regarding potentially adverse effects of excessive smartphone use, particularly with respect to physical and mental health. Recently, the term "smartphone addiction" (SPA) has been introduced to describe smartphone-related addictive behavior and associated physical and psychosocial impairment. Here, we used structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 3 T to investigate gray matter volume (GMV) and intrinsic neural activity in individuals with SPA (n = 22) compared to a control group (n = 26). SPA was assessed using the Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI), GMV was investigated by means of voxel-based morphometry, and intrinsic neural activity was measured by the amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF). Compared to controls, individuals with SPA showed lower GMV in left anterior insula, inferior temporal and parahippocampal cortex (p < 0.001, uncorrected for height, followed by correction for spatial extent). Lower intrinsic activity in SPA was found in the right anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). A significant negative association was found between SPAI and both ACC volume and activity. In addition, a significant negative association between SPAI scores and left orbitofrontal GMV was found. This study provides first evidence for distinct structural and functional correlates of behavioral addiction in individuals meeting psychometric criteria for SPA. Given their widespread use and increasing popularity, the present study questions the harmlessness of smartphones, at least in individuals that may be at increased risk for developing smartphone-related addictive behaviors.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

04 Faculty of Medicine > University Psychiatric Services > University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
04 Faculty of Medicine > University Psychiatric Services > University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy > Research Division

UniBE Contributor:

Koenig, Julian

Subjects:

600 Technology > 610 Medicine & health

ISSN:

0306-4603

Publisher:

Elsevier

Language:

English

Submitter:

Chantal Michel

Date Deposited:

24 Dec 2020 09:46

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:42

Publisher DOI:

10.1016/j.addbeh.2020.106334

PubMed ID:

32062336

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/148949

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/148949

Actions (login required)

Edit item Edit item
Provide Feedback