ArticlePloS one2017
Answering the missed call: Initial exploration of cognitive and electrophysiological changes associated with smartphone use and abuse.
Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 38 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
38 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 92 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impacts of digital social media detox for mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Narra J · 2024Pooled it
- Cognitive deficits in problematic internet use: meta-analysis of 40 studies.The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science · 2019Pooled it
- Mind over Matter: Testing the Efficacy of an Online Randomized Controlled Trial to Reduce Distraction from Smartphone Use.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Trial
- Smartphone Addiction Modulates Object-Based Attention.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Clarifying the Association Between Digital Media Engagement and Risk Taking.Technology in society · 2026Article
- Changed detection: No relationship between working memory and media usage in Covid-era and contemporary young adults.Attention, perception & psychophysics · 2025Article
- A longitudinal study on the relationships between impulsivity and excessive smartphone use among patients with acquired brain injury and control participants.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Acculturative stress, loneliness, smartphone addiction, L2 emotions, and creativity among international students in China: a structural equation model.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2025Article
- Night Screen Time is Associated with Cognitive Function in Healthy Young Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2024Article
- Impact of smartphone on mental health among medical undergraduates: A cross-sectional study.Journal of education and health promotion · 2024Article
- Acute smartphone use impairs vigilance and inhibition capacities.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Problematic smartphone usage, objective smartphone engagement, and executive functions: A latent variable analysis.Attention, perception & psychophysics · 2023Article
- Smartphone Distraction: Italian Validation of the Smartphone Distraction Scale (SDS).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Technology and addiction: What drugs can teach us about digital media.Transcultural psychiatry · 2023Article
- A Review on Smartphone Keystroke Dynamics as a Digital Biomarker for Understanding Neurocognitive Functioning.Brain sciences · 2023Review
- Effects of smartphone addiction on cognitive function and physical activity in middle-school children: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- Impact of Mobile Phone Screen Exposure on Adolescents' Cognitive Health.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Article
- Altered resting-state functional connectivity of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex with intrinsic brain networks in male problematic smartphone users.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Article
- Caudate nucleus volume mediates the link between glutamatergic neurotransmission and problematic smartphone use in youth.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSmartphone usage is now integral to human behavior. Recent studies associate extensive usage with a range of debilitating effects. We sought to determine whether excessive usage is accompanied by measurable neural, cognitive and behavioral changes.
methodSubjects lacking previous experience with smartphones (n = 35) were compared to a matched group of heavy smartphone users (n = 16) on numerous behavioral and electrophysiological measures recorded using electroencephalogram (EEG) combined with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the right prefrontal cortex (rPFC). In a second longitudinal intervention, a randomly selected sample of the original non-users received smartphones for 3 months while the others served as controls. All measurements were repeated following this intervention.
resultsHeavy users showed increased impulsivity, hyperactivity and negative social concern. We also found reduced early TMS evoked potentials in the rPFC of this group, which correlated with severity of self-reported inattention problems. Heavy users also obtained lower accuracy rates than nonusers in a numerical processing. Critically, the second part of the experiment revealed that both the numerical processing and social cognition domains are causally linked to smartphone usage.
conclusionHeavy usage was found to be associated with impaired attention, reduced numerical processing capacity, changes in social cognition, and reduced right prefrontal cortex (rPFC) excitability. Memory impairments were not detected. Novel usage over short period induced a significant reduction in numerical processing capacity and changes in social cognition.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.