Aberrant Intrinsic Neural Networks Strength in Individuals with "Smartphone Addiction": An MRI Data Fusion Study

Objectives: Excessive smartphone use, sometimes also referred to as “smartphone addiction”, has increasingly attracted neuroscientific interest due to its similarities with other behavioral addictions, particularly internet gaming disorder. Little is known so far about the neural mechanisms underlying smartphone addiction. Here, we explored interrelationships between brain structure and function to specify neurobiological correlates of smartphone addiction on a neural system level. Methods: Gray matter volume and intrinsic neural activity was investigated in individuals with smartphone addiction (n = 20) compared to controls (n = 24), using multimodal magnetic resonance imaging and multivariate data fusion techniques, i.e., parallel Independent Component Analysis. Results: The joint analysis of both data modalities explored shared information between gray matter volume and intrinsic neural activity which were not revealed by previous modality-specific approaches. Two amplitude of low frequency fluctuations-based independent neural systems significantly differed between individuals with smartphone addiction and controls. A medial/dorsolateral prefrontal system exhibited lower functional network strength lower in smartphone addiction vs. controls, whereas the opposite pattern was detected in a parietal cortical/cerebellar system. Neural network strength was significantly related to duration of smartphone use and sleep difficulties. Conclusions: We show modality-specific associations of the brain’s resting-state activity with distinct and shared smartphone addiction symptom dimensions. In particular, the data suggest contributions of aberrant prefrontal and parietal neural network strength as a possible signature of deficient executive control in smartphone addiction.