Higher resting glutamate in the dACC was linked to less deactivation in both regions, while GABA showed no clear relationship, pointing to a possible neurochemical reason some viewers struggle more to stop scrolling.
Skipped clips produced much weaker effects, and visual cortex activity stayed normal; at the same time, connectivity between the two control regions increased more during preferred videos.
The NeuroImage authors said the pattern does not signal failed self-control but a low-conflict, absorbed state similar to flow, though the study was limited by its small, mostly young-adult sample and lack of habitual-use data.