Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,203 studies31 sourcesUpdated 44 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BYDepression and anxiety

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

  • Yuan Hu1
  • Zijie Wei1
  • Lei Xu1
  • Benjamin Becker2,3
  • Juan Kou1
  1. 1Institute of Brain and Psychological Sciences Sichuan Normal University Chengdu China sicnu.edu.cn.
  2. 2Department of Psychology The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China hku.hk.
  3. 3State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences The University of Hong Kong Hong Kong China hku.hk.
Read full textPDFDOICite

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.

Related

  1. Dietary fructose promotes anxiety through impairment of microglia physiology
    A. Coursan, T. Devos, M. Huart +9
    bioRxivPreprintAll rights reservedFull textNeurosciencebioRxiv
  2. Early life stress caused glucose homeostasis impairment and anxiety-like behavior along with oxidative stress in adolescent male rat offspring: Protective effect of saffron extract
    Siavash Shirzadeh Barough, Behnam Saeidi, Fateme Binayi +5
    PLOS OnePeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textEnzymology & metabolismCell biologyPLOS
  3. WNK-dependent phosphorylation of gephyrin tunes GABA A receptors at inhibitory synapses and modulates anxiety behavior
    Zaha Merlaud, Celia Delhaye, Margarida Nabais +13
    Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of AmericaPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDNeuroscienceHAL
  4. Intra-uterine position modulates lifelong hippocampal neurogenesis and anxiety-related behavior
    f. grieco, M. Vilademunt, M. Ali +9
    bioRxivPreprintCC BY-NCFull textNeurosciencebioRxiv
  5. Reliable detection and continuous monitoring of memory dysfunction in mild cognitive impairment and healthy aging through adaptive computational phenotyping
    Holly S. Hake, Maarten van der Velde, Thomas J. Grabowski +2
    PLOS Digital HealthPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textNeurosciencePLOS

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{hu2026social,
  title = {{Social Anxiety Modulates Default Mode Network Dysfunction and Working Memory Impairment During Social Media-Like Cue Distraction.}},
  author = {Yuan Hu and Zijie Wei and Lei Xu and Benjamin Becker and Juan Kou},
  journal = {Depression and anxiety},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  doi = {10.1155/da/1506367},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42996891},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Social Anxiety Modulates Default Mode Network Dysfunction and Working Memory Impairment During Social Media-Like Cue Distraction.
AU  - Yuan Hu
AU  - Zijie Wei
AU  - Lei Xu
AU  - Benjamin Becker
AU  - Juan Kou
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/11/05
JO  - Depression and anxiety
DO  - 10.1155/da/1506367
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42996891
AB  - 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.
SN  - 1091-4269
SN  - 1520-6394
ER  -