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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Frontiers in Neuroscience

Altered attention network dynamics in resting-state fMRI of individuals with high smartphone addiction scores

  • Harrison Watters1,2
  • Aida Abdul Rashid3
  • Subapriya Suppiah3
  • Theodore J. LaGrow4
  • Jaroslav Hlinka1
  • Shella Keilholz4
4 affiliations
  1. 1Institute of Computer Science of the Czech Academy of Sciences
  2. 2Department of Psychological Science, Weber State University
  3. 3Center for Diagnostic Nuclear Imaging, Universiti Putra Malaysia
  4. 4Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Tech and Emory University
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Abstract

Introduction: Altered attention network activity has been consistently reported in recent neuroimaging literature of smartphone addiction and problematic smartphone use. However, many functional imaging studies have relied on traditional static functional connectivity analyses, which cannot capture time-varying or recurrent dynamics of attention networks.

Methods: Given the importance of temporal and spatial dynamics for attentional processing, we applied two complementary dynamic functional connectivity approaches: functional connectivity-based attractor networks (fcANN), which characterize transitions between discrete attractor states related to internal-external context and action-perception dynamics, and cPCA-based quasi-periodic pattern (QPP) analysis, which captures phase relationships between cortical networks including the default mode network, dorsal attention network, and frontoparietal control network.

Results: In a resting-state fMRI dataset comparing participants with High and Low SAS-M scores (SAS-M: Smartphone addiction scale-Malay version questionnaire), we observed context-dependent differences in DMN-attention-network relationships across attractor states. The most consistent effects emerged during transitions between internal and external attractor states, where subjects with high smartphone addiction (SPA) scores showed greater DMN dominance relative to attention-related networks. For DMN-FPN, these differences correlated with subject SAS-M scores.

Discussion: Overall, these findings provide preliminary evidence that smartphone addiction may be associated with altered large-scale attentional dynamics at rest, warranting further investigation in larger and more diverse samples.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{watters2026altered,
  title = {{Altered attention network dynamics in resting-state fMRI of individuals with high smartphone addiction scores}},
  author = {Harrison Watters and Aida Abdul Rashid and Subapriya Suppiah and Theodore J. LaGrow and Jaroslav Hlinka and Shella Keilholz},
  journal = {Frontiers in Neuroscience},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3389/fnins.2026.1948718},
  url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2026.1948718/full},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Altered attention network dynamics in resting-state fMRI of individuals with high smartphone addiction scores
AU  - Harrison Watters
AU  - Aida Abdul Rashid
AU  - Subapriya Suppiah
AU  - Theodore J. LaGrow
AU  - Jaroslav Hlinka
AU  - Shella Keilholz
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/14
JO  - Frontiers in Neuroscience
DO  - 10.3389/fnins.2026.1948718
UR  - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2026.1948718/full
AB  - Introduction: Altered attention network activity has been consistently reported in recent neuroimaging literature of smartphone addiction and problematic smartphone use. However, many functional imaging studies have relied on traditional static functional connectivity analyses, which cannot capture time-varying or recurrent dynamics of attention networks.  Methods: Given the importance of temporal and spatial dynamics for attentional processing, we applied two complementary dynamic functional connectivity approaches: functional connectivity-based attractor networks (fcANN), which characterize transitions between discrete attractor states related to internal-external context and action-perception dynamics, and cPCA-based quasi-periodic pattern (QPP) analysis, which captures phase relationships between cortical networks including the default mode network, dorsal attention network, and frontoparietal control network.  Results: In a resting-state fMRI dataset comparing participants with High and Low SAS-M scores (SAS-M: Smartphone addiction scale-Malay version questionnaire), we observed context-dependent differences in DMN-attention-network relationships across attractor states. The most consistent effects emerged during transitions between internal and external attractor states, where subjects with high smartphone addiction (SPA) scores showed greater DMN dominance relative to attention-related networks. For DMN-FPN, these differences correlated with subject SAS-M scores.  Discussion: Overall, these findings provide preliminary evidence that smartphone addiction may be associated with altered large-scale attentional dynamics at rest, warranting further investigation in larger and more diverse samples.
SN  - 1662-453X
SN  - 1662-4548
ER  -