Excess social media use in normal populations is associated with amygdala-striatal but not with prefrontal morphology

• Published in: Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging Vol. 269; pp. 31 - 35
• Main Authors: He, Qinghua, Turel, Ofir, Brevers, Damien, Bechara, Antoine
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 30.11.2017
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Amygdala; Amygdala - diagnostic imaging; Cross-Sectional Studies; Excessive use; Female; Gray Matter - diagnostic imaging; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - trends; Male; Population Surveillance; Prefrontal cortex; Prefrontal Cortex - diagnostic imaging; Social Media - trends; Social networking sites; Striatum; Ventral Striatum - diagnostic imaging; Voxel-based morphometry; Young Adult; Striatum; Social networking sites; Prefrontal cortex; Amygdala; Excessive use; Voxel-based morphometry
• ISSN: 0925-4927; 1872-7506; 1872-7506
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2017.09.003

This study aims to investigate the gray matter volume (GMV) of key neural systems possibly associated with Excess Social Media Use (ESMU) in the general user population. It employs a sex-balanced case (relatively high ESMU scores) - control (relatively low ESMU scores) design with 50 random university students who have reported varying levels of ESMU. The case and control groups included 25 subjects each. Brain volumes were calculated with Voxel-Based Morphometry techniques applied to structural MRI scans. Results based on voxel-wise and region-of-interest (ROI) analyses showed that the case group had reduced GMV in the bilateral amygdala and right ventral striatum. The GMV of the bilateral amygdala and right ventral striatum negatively correlated with ESMU scores in the voxel-wise analysis. No differences or correlations in relation to prefrontal regions were observed. Using the ROI analysis, the bilateral amygdala volumes correlated with ESMU scores, and insufficient evidence regarding the ventral striatum and ESMU was obtained. It is concluded that excess social media use in the general population is associated in part with GMV reduction in the bilateral amygdala, and possibly the striatum, but not in volumetric differences in prefrontal regions. •Excess social media use is quite prevalent in the general population.•Understanding its underlying brain morphology is important.•It is associated with gray matter volume reduction in the bilateral amygdala and possibly the striatum.•It is not associated with volumetric prefrontal differences.•It is similar to other excess behaviors in volumetric differences in the reward system, but not in prefrontal regions.