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Social Anxiety Modulates Default Mode Network Dysfunction and Working Memory Impairment During Social Media-Like Cue Distraction.

Yuan Hu, Zijie Wei, Lei Xu, Benjamin Becker, Juan Kou

Depression and Anxiety 2026 DOI: 10.1155/da/1506367 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics fMRI study with between-subject design Peer reviewed
Sample size 94
Population Healthy adults
Topics Default mode network Anxiety
Keywords Social anxiety Social media distraction Working memory
Key points Social media-like cue distraction impaired working memory and altered posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) activity. Under that condition, trait social anxiety moderated the PCC-accuracy relationship: higher social anxiety predicted a positive coupling between PCC activation and accuracy, whereas low social anxiety showed decreased PCC activation together with increased accuracy. The authors argue this is the first demonstration that social media-like cues can specifically disrupt default mode network (PCC) function during working memory tasks.

Abstract

Recent studies have highlighted the adverse impact of social-media distractions on cognitive abilities, especially among individuals with anxiety who experience heightened apprehensions about providing immediate online social responses. Nevertheless, the investigation into the mechanism is scarce. In this fMRI study, 94 healthy adults completed a 2-back working memory (WM) task under three conditions using a between-subject design: social media-like cue distraction (e.g., WeChat), nonsocial digital distraction (e.g., browser), and no distraction. Data were analyzed using task-evoked activation analysis based on the general linear model (GLM) and functional network connectivity (FNC) analysis based on independent component analysis (ICA). Results showed that social media-like cue distraction impaired WM and altered posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) activity. Crucially, under the social media-like cue distraction condition, the brain-behavior relationship in the PCC was significantly moderated by trait social anxiety: higher social anxiety predicted a positive coupling between PCC activation and task accuracy, with decreased PCC activation associated with decreased accuracy; conversely, individuals with low social anxiety exhibited decreased PCC activation together with increased accuracy. This study is the first to demonstrate that cues resembling social media can specifically disrupt core brain regions of the default mode network (DMN; PCC) functions during WM tasks and that this neural response is influenced by individual levels of social anxiety.

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

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