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<p>Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU) refers to maladaptive smartphone behaviors that negatively impact users’ physical and mental health. Emotion regulation is considered a key driving factor in the development and maintenance of many maladaptive behaviors. Previous studies have indicated that PSU is closely related to emotion regulation capacity, with deficits in regulating negative emotions potentially serving as a core psychological mechanism underlying excessive and persistent smartphone use. However, the resting-state neural correlates of emotion regulation in individuals with PSU remain unclear. This study employed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to compare voxel-wise whole-brain amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) between individuals with high-PSU group (hPSU) and low-PSU group (lPSU). Combined with the Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS) and the Brief Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (B-DERS), we examined the relationships between spontaneous brain activity and behavioral measures. Furthermore, mediation analysis was conducted to explore the potential mediating role of emotion regulation between right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) ALFF and PSU severity. Compared with the lPSU, the hPSU group showed significantly decreased ALFF in the ACC and rDLPFC, and increased ALFF in the right cerebellum and right lingual gyrus. Correlation analyses revealed that rDLPFC ALFF was negatively correlated with SABAS and B-DERS scores, whereas ALFF in the right lingual gyrus was positively correlated with both measures. Mediation analysis suggested that the association between rDLPFC ALFF and PSU severity was partially explained by B-DERS, consistent with a partial mediation model. This study combined rs-fMRI with behavioral analyses and revealed abnormal spontaneous activity patterns in key emotion regulation–related brain regions among individuals with PSU. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that rDLPFC activity was significantly associated with both emotion regulation difficulties and the severity of PSU, with emotion regulation difficulties partially mediating this relationship. These results offer important insights into the neural mechanisms of emotion regulation in PSU and suggest that the rDLPFC may serve as a potential neural target for intervention. </p>

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Emotion regulation difficulty mediates the relationship between right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex spontaneous activity and problematic smartphone use

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年8月1日

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  • Yu-Lu Wang,
  • Kai-Mo Ding,
  • Jun Zhu,
  • Bei Zhao,
  • Dan-Wei Zhang,
  • Xian-Lu Chang,
  • Guo-Hai Li,
  • Yue Pan,
  • Li Zhu,
  • Qiang Hu,
  • Cheng-Chong Li,
  • Zi-Liang Wang

摘要

Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU) refers to maladaptive smartphone behaviors that negatively impact users’ physical and mental health. Emotion regulation is considered a key driving factor in the development and maintenance of many maladaptive behaviors. Previous studies have indicated that PSU is closely related to emotion regulation capacity, with deficits in regulating negative emotions potentially serving as a core psychological mechanism underlying excessive and persistent smartphone use. However, the resting-state neural correlates of emotion regulation in individuals with PSU remain unclear. This study employed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to compare voxel-wise whole-brain amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) between individuals with high-PSU group (hPSU) and low-PSU group (lPSU). Combined with the Smartphone Application-Based Addiction Scale (SABAS) and the Brief Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (B-DERS), we examined the relationships between spontaneous brain activity and behavioral measures. Furthermore, mediation analysis was conducted to explore the potential mediating role of emotion regulation between right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (rDLPFC) ALFF and PSU severity. Compared with the lPSU, the hPSU group showed significantly decreased ALFF in the ACC and rDLPFC, and increased ALFF in the right cerebellum and right lingual gyrus. Correlation analyses revealed that rDLPFC ALFF was negatively correlated with SABAS and B-DERS scores, whereas ALFF in the right lingual gyrus was positively correlated with both measures. Mediation analysis suggested that the association between rDLPFC ALFF and PSU severity was partially explained by B-DERS, consistent with a partial mediation model. This study combined rs-fMRI with behavioral analyses and revealed abnormal spontaneous activity patterns in key emotion regulation–related brain regions among individuals with PSU. Furthermore, the study demonstrated that rDLPFC activity was significantly associated with both emotion regulation difficulties and the severity of PSU, with emotion regulation difficulties partially mediating this relationship. These results offer important insights into the neural mechanisms of emotion regulation in PSU and suggest that the rDLPFC may serve as a potential neural target for intervention.