Fear of missing out (FOMO) associates with reduced cortical thickness in core regions of the posterior default mode network and higher levels of problematic smartphone and social media use.
Lan Wang, Xinqi Zhou, Xinwei Song, Xianyang Gan, Ran Zhang, Xiqin Liu, Ting Xu, Guojuan Jiao, Stefania Ferraro, Mercy Chepngetich Bore, Fangwen Yu, Weihua Zhao, Christian Montag, Benjamin Becker
Addictive Behaviors March 25, 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107709 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational neuroimaging study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 167 |
| Population | Healthy young individuals |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Keywords | Humans Fear Social media Smartphone Surveys and questionnaires Cortical thickness Precuneus |
| Key findings | Higher fear of missing out was associated with lower cortical thickness in the right precuneus, a core default mode network hub tied to social and self-referential processes, while no association was found with striatal morphology. The authors propose that FOMO may promote escalating smartphone and social media use via social and self-referential processes rather than reward-related processes per se. |
Abstract
Background and
Aims: Fear of missing out (FOMO) promotes the desire or urge to stay continuously connected with a social reference group and updated on their activities, which may result in escalating and potentially addictive smartphone and social media use. The present study aimed to determine whether the neurobiological basis of FOMO encompasses core regions of the reward circuitry or social brain, and associations with levels of problematic smartphone or social media use.
Methods: We capitalized on a dimensional neuroimaging approach to examine cortical thickness and subcortical volume associations in a sample of healthy young individuals (n = 167). Meta-analytic network and behavioral decoding analyses were employed to further characterize the identified regions.
Results: Higher levels of FOMO associated with lower cortical thickness in the right precuneus. In contrast, no associations between FOMO and variations in striatal morphology were observed. Meta-analytic decoding revealed that the identified precuneus region exhibited a strong functional interaction with the default mode network (DMN) engaged in social cognitive and self-referential domains. Discussion and
Conclusions: Together the present findings suggest that individual variations in FOMO are associated with the brain structural architecture of the right precuneus, a core hub within a large-scale functional network resembling the DMN and involved in social and self-referential processes. FOMO may promote escalating social media and smartphone use via social and self-referential processes rather than reward-related processes per se.
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 |