When Being Different Becomes an Asset or a Burden: The Interaction Effect between Cultural Estrangement and Self-Esteem on Default Mode Network Activity

When Being Different Becomes an Asset or a Burden: The Interaction Effect between Cultural Estrangement and Self-Esteem on Default Mode Network Activity | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article When Being Different Becomes an Asset or a Burden: The Interaction Effect between Cultural Estrangement and Self-Esteem on Default Mode Network Activity Morio Aki, Naoya Oishi, Sayaka Yoshimura, Mami Shibata, Nagara Takao, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7558850/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 13 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Increasing multiculturalism and globalization have increased the discrepancies between sociallyshared norms and personal values. This study investigated whether Cultural Estrangement (CE) and self-esteem (SE) interact to influence functional connectivity (FC) in the default mode network (DMN). In total, 170 healthy Japanese adults (18–70 years) were recruited, 70 of whom completed the CE Inventory (CEI) and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and underwent 7Tesla restingstate 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 the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ) showed a significant interaction after cluster-level false discovery rate correction (p < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis revealed that when the RSES was high, CEI correlated positively with DMN–TPJ rsFC, whereas at low RSES, the correlation was negative; age, sex, CEI, and RSES alone were not significant. These findings suggest that high SE facilitates the incorporation of CE-related autobiographical information into self-representation, whereas low SE is associated with reduced incorporation. DMN–TPJ coupling may indicate whether certain functions are viewed as assets or burdens in multicultural societies. Biological sciences/Psychology Social science/Psychology Social science/Sociology Cultural Estrangement Self-Esteem Default Mode Network Temporo-Parietal Junction Functional Connectivity Resting-State fMRI Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 14 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 12 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 07 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 04 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 01 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 01 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 23 Dec, 2025 Editor invited by journal 15 Sep, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 11 Sep, 2025 First submitted to journal 11 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7558850","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":617488613,"identity":"48d44e3b-fa67-4ff9-85d5-eb29024e5f75","order_by":0,"name":"Morio Aki","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Kyoto University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Morio","middleName":"","lastName":"Aki","suffix":""},{"id":617488614,"identity":"e1fc3d0d-2573-477b-abf3-7c1198a88adb","order_by":1,"name":"Naoya Oishi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Kyoto 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