A Systematic Review of Structural and Functional MRI Studies Investigating Social Networking Site Use.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Systematic review of observational neuroimaging studies
PubMed 37239257 · doi:10.3390/brainsci13050787
What was done
A systematic review searching Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus up to October 2022 for English-language structural and functional MRI studies evaluating problematic, compulsive, or regular social networking site (SNS) use. Included studies underwent quality assessment followed by a narrative synthesis. A total of 28 articles met inclusion criteria: 9 structural MRI, 6 resting-state fMRI, and 13 task-based fMRI studies.
What was found
The abstract reports qualitative findings without pooled quantitative metrics or effect sizes: - Problematic SNS use was linked to reduced volume in the ventral striatum, amygdala, subgenual anterior cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and posterior insula. - Task-based fMRI showed heightened ventral striatum and precuneus activation in response to SNS cues. - Connectivity analyses demonstrated abnormal functional connectivity within the dorsal attention network and inter-hemispheric communication deficits. - Regular (non-addicted) SNS use engaged the mentalizing, self-referential cognition, salience, reward, and default mode networks.
Why it matters
The synthesis identifies preliminary neural correlates of problematic social media use that partially mirror alterations seen in substance use disorders, while clarifying that evidence is currently insufficient to classify problematic SNS use as a formal addictive disease.
Limits
The evidence base is constrained by a small number of eligible studies (n = 28) and substantial methodological heterogeneity that precluded quantitative meta-analysis. Included studies relied on cross-sectional designs; the abstract explicitly notes a complete absence of longitudinal evidence establishing whether SNS use causes neuroadaptations. Precise participant numbers, demographic details, and effect sizes are not reported in the abstract.
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