When Being Different Becomes an Asset or a Burden: The Interaction Effect between Cultural Estrangement and Self-Esteem on Default Mode Network Activity
Morio Aki, Naoya Oishi, Sayaka Yoshimura, Mami Shibata, Nagara Takao, Saki Akahori, Michael Spantios, Toshiya Murai, Hironobu Fujiwara
Research Square April 6, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7558850/v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional observational neuroimaging study |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 70 |
| Population | Healthy Japanese adults aged 18–70 years |
| Measures | Cultural Estrangement Inventory (CEI), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Key findings | Cultural estrangement and self-esteem interacted to predict resting-state functional connectivity between the default mode network and the right temporoparietal junction: the correlation was positive at high self-esteem and negative at low self-esteem, while age, sex, and each measure alone were not significant. The authors suggest high self-esteem supports incorporating culturally estranged autobiographical information into self-representation, whereas low self-esteem is associated with reduced incorporation. |
Abstract
Abstract Increasing multiculturalism and globalization have increased the discrepancies between sociallyshared norms and personal values. This study investigated whether Cultural Estrangement (CE) and self-esteem (SE) interact to influence functional connectivity (FC) in the default mode network (DMN). In total, 170 healthy Japanese adults (18–70 years) were recruited, 70 of whom completed the CE Inventory (CEI) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and underwent 7Tesla restingstate functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). DMN seeds were extracted from resting samples (n = 100) using group-level independent component analysis with 20, 25, and 30 components, followed by CEI × RSES interaction on resting-state FC (rsFC). Across all three DMN masks, a single cluster in the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ) showed a significant interaction after cluster-level false discovery rate correction (p < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis revealed that when the RSES was high, CEI correlated positively with DMN–TPJ rsFC, whereas at low RSES, the correlation was negative; age, sex, CEI, and RSES alone were not significant. These findings suggest that high SE facilitates the incorporation of CE-related autobiographical information into self-representation, whereas low SE is associated with reduced incorporation. DMN–TPJ coupling may indicate whether certain functions are viewed as assets or burdens in multicultural societies.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Functional connectivity of default mode network components: Correlation, anticorrelation, and causality Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study using resting-state fMRI and seed correlation analysis | |
| Patterns of Brain Activity Supporting Autobiographical Memory, Prospection, and Theory of Mind, and Their Relationship to the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2009 | Experimental study using fMRI | |
| Dynamic reconfiguration of the default mode network during narrative comprehension Human subjects | 2016 | Experimental study | |
| Broadband Cortical Desynchronization Underlies the Human Psychedelic State Healthy human participants | 2013 | Experimental study | |
| The brain on art: intense aesthetic experience activates the default mode network Human observers | 2012 | Observational study with fMRI and behavioral analysis |