Self-esteem gates the coupling between cultural estrangement and the default mode network
- 1Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University
- 2Human Brain Research Center, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University
- 3Advanced Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Human Health Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University
Abstract
Increasing multiculturalism and globalization have increased the discrepancies between socially-shared norms and personal values. This study examined whether the association between Cultural Estrangement (CE) and resting-state functional connectivity (FC) of the default mode network (DMN) is moderated by self-esteem (SE). In total, 170 healthy Japanese adults (20–70 years) were recruited, 70 of whom completed the CE Inventory (CEI) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and underwent 7-Tesla resting-state 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 right lateral parietal cortex (within the DMN, bordering the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and superior lateral occipital cortex (LOC)) showed a significant interaction after cluster-level false discovery rate correction (p < .05). Multiple regression analysis revealed that when the RSES was high, CEI correlated positively with DMN–right lateral parietal rsFC, whereas at low RSES, the correlation was negative; age, sex, CEI, and RSES alone were not significant. These findings are consistent with self-esteem moderating the resting-state association between cultural estrangement and DMN–right lateral parietal connectivity: at higher SE the CE–connectivity association is positive (incorporation pattern), at lower SE the association is negative (segregation pattern).
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BibTeX
@article{aki2026selfesteem,
title = {{Self-esteem gates the coupling between cultural estrangement and the default mode network}},
author = {Morio Aki and Naoya Oishi and Sayaka Yoshimura and Mami Shibata and Nagara Takao and Saki Akahori and Michael Spantios and Toshiya Murai and Hironobu Fujiwara},
journal = {Scientific Reports},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1038/s41598-026-66817-2},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-66817-2},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Self-esteem gates the coupling between cultural estrangement and the default mode network
AU - Morio Aki
AU - Naoya Oishi
AU - Sayaka Yoshimura
AU - Mami Shibata
AU - Nagara Takao
AU - Saki Akahori
AU - Michael Spantios
AU - Toshiya Murai
AU - Hironobu Fujiwara
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/01
JO - Scientific Reports
DO - 10.1038/s41598-026-66817-2
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-66817-2
AB - Increasing multiculturalism and globalization have increased the discrepancies between socially-shared norms and personal values. This study examined whether the association between Cultural Estrangement (CE) and resting-state functional connectivity (FC) of the default mode network (DMN) is moderated by self-esteem (SE). In total, 170 healthy Japanese adults (20–70 years) were recruited, 70 of whom completed the CE Inventory (CEI) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and underwent 7-Tesla resting-state 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 right lateral parietal cortex (within the DMN, bordering the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and superior lateral occipital cortex (LOC)) showed a significant interaction after cluster-level false discovery rate correction (p < .05). Multiple regression analysis revealed that when the RSES was high, CEI correlated positively with DMN–right lateral parietal rsFC, whereas at low RSES, the correlation was negative; age, sex, CEI, and RSES alone were not significant. These findings are consistent with self-esteem moderating the resting-state association between cultural estrangement and DMN–right lateral parietal connectivity: at higher SE the CE–connectivity association is positive (incorporation pattern), at lower SE the association is negative (segregation pattern).
SN - 2045-2322
ER -