Wired to be connected? Links between mobile technology engagement, intertemporal preference and frontostriatal white matter connectivity

Abstract

Youth around the world are increasingly dependent on social media and mobile smartphones. This phenomenon has generated considerable speculation regarding the impacts of extensive technology engagement on cognitive development and how these habits might be ‘rewiring’ the brains of those growing up in a heavily digital era. In an initial study conducted with healthy young adults, we utilized behavioral and self-report measures to demonstrate associations between smartphone usage habits (assessed both subjectively and objectively) and individual differences in intertemporal preference and reward sensitivity. In a follow-up neuroimaging study, we used probabilistic tractography of diffusion-weighted images to determine how these individual difference characteristics might relate to variation in white matter connectivity, focusing on two dissociable pathways—one connecting the ventral striatum (vSTR) with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the other connecting the vSTR with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Regression analyses revealed opposing patterns of association, with stronger vSTR–vmPFC connectivity corresponding to increased mobile technology engagement but stronger vSTR–dlPFC connectivity corresponding to decreased engagement. Taken together, the results of these two studies provide important foundational evidence for both neural and cognitive factors that can be linked to how individuals engage with mobile technology.

Longitudinal associations between social media use, mental well-being and structural brain development across adolescence

“…Moreover, diminished cortical thickness of (amongst others) the ventral LPFC and TPJ across adolescence have been related to a lack of impulse control ( Pehlivanova et al, 2018 ), a characteristic that has often been related to social media use. Indeed, Wilmer and Chein, 2016 , Wilmer et al, 2019 reported that individual differences in smartphone use were associated with impulsivity as measured with a delay discounting task. Moreover, they found that stronger structural connectivity between ventral striatum and MPFC was related to more engagement with smartphones, whereas connectivity between ventral striatum and dorsal LPFC was related to less engagement ( Wilmer et al, 2019 ).…”

“…Indeed, Wilmer and Chein, 2016 , Wilmer et al, 2019 reported that individual differences in smartphone use were associated with impulsivity as measured with a delay discounting task. Moreover, they found that stronger structural connectivity between ventral striatum and MPFC was related to more engagement with smartphones, whereas connectivity between ventral striatum and dorsal LPFC was related to less engagement ( Wilmer et al, 2019 ). Moreover, Paulus and collogues (2019) used a group factor analyses to investigate latent variables that relate to social media activity and found that four group factor analyses explained 37% of the variance between social media and structural brain indices (cortical thickness, sulcus depth and volume).…”

“…Previous studies have shown a decrease of surface area and cortical thickness in specifically these regions across adolescence ( Mills et al, 2014a , Mills et al, 2014b , Tamnes et al, 2017 , Wierenga et al, 2014 ). Moreover, these regions have been related to social media use specifically (MPFC, LPFC, Wilmer et al, 2019 ) or social relations in general (TPJ, pSTS, ( Becht et al, 2021 , Blakemore, 2008 ). We therefore used these four regions as a starting point to unravel if – and how - individual differences in social media use were associated to individual differences in structural brain development.…”

Digital Media and the Developing Brain

“…The same group of smartphone addicts studied in Schmitgen et al (2020) also evinced weaker coordination between the dmPFC and the left PPC, and between the anterior insula and the right lateralized PPC (Horvath et al, 2020). Other recent work in heavy and excessive smartphone users has likewise indicated weaker intra-network connectivity in the FP and CO networks (Chun et al, 2020), and decreased functional (Chun et al, 2020) and structural (Wilmer et al, 2019) connectivity between key centers of the brain's control networks and the ventral striatum (VS), a region of the brain where mesolimbic dopamine is released to signal the value of potential rewards. Thus, studies of brain activity and connectivity suggest that individuals who are more enmeshed with digital media also have a harder time (or need to devote more effort) initiating and sustaining self-regulatory processes, and may not be as facile at controlling responses to appetitive and potentially rewarding cues.…”

Exogenous cognition and cognitive state theory: The plexus of consumer analytics and decision-making

“…Eslami et al (2018) provide a protocol for exhibit-driven exposure to stimulate qualitative depth research to surmount the issue of consumer ignorance of the process of analytics. Neuroscience methods may also have a place in mapping the cognitive morphology during variant lab-based purchase tasks on different cohorts with differential use of smart technology (see Braeutigam et al, 2019 or Wilmer et al, 2019). Mobile diaries are another possibility; Lovett and Peres (2018) examine the efficacy of this form of data capture in a consumer research context.…”