Children of the Pandemic: Increasing Screen Exposure Time Harms Inhibitory Control Network in Developing Children

• In Event: Poster Session 03
  In Poster Session: PS 03 Topic - Technology, Media & Child Development

Abstract

The COVID pandemic has made virtual environments play a critical role in family lives. A recent survey shows that 6-12-year-olds’ screen time has increased by 50% during the pandemic (SuperAwesome Ltd., 2020). As virtual experiences are rapidly substituting a significant proportion of in-person interactions, it is critical to monitor how screen exposure time shapes developing children behaviorally and neurally. The nature of screen use is that users are able to easily switch modes, pause, and skip any session they are less interested in. This nature may delay the development of the inhibitory control networks in children, who are vulnerable to immediate reward-orientated tendency and not yet capable of controlling their impulsivity (Casey, 2015). Therefore, we hypothesized that as children become more exposed to screens, their reward sensitivity will be augmented. Consequently, this will result in delaying the development of the inhibitory neural circuit and make children become more impulsive.
We examined 8,334 children’s behavioral and neural data (aged 9-11 years) using the ABCD Study Data Repository (Casey et al., 2018). Robust mediation analysis and correlation analysis were used to investigate how Screen Time interacts with children’s reward-orientated tendency and the brain's inhibitory network based on both resting-state intrinsic connectivity and task-based neural activation. Behavioral approach system (BAS) score was used as an index of reward-orientated tendency. Intrinsic Frontoparietal Network-Caudate (FPN-Caudate) connectivity strength (Dalley et al., 2008), and beta weights of DLPFC, a crucial node in FPN, and Caudate during the stop-signal task were used as neural indices of the inhibitory control quality in children (Zhang & Iwaki, 2020). As a control, we compared the parallel model with Activity Time, which is related to in-person interaction without screen exposure.
Results showed that Screen time, including time spent on Movie/TV, youtube, and video games, significantly mediated the relationship between BAS and the intrinsic inhibitory process (FPN-Caudate connectivity; p’s<.001 on indirect path, Fig.1A). A higher BAS was linked to a longer screen exposure time, and a weaker inhibitory network connectivity. This complete/full mediation model indicates that Screen time negatively influenced the strength of FPN-Caudate connectivity. In contrast, Activity time, which included time spent on sports, in-person interactive games, and arts, did not have any effect either with BAS or the FPN-Caudate connectivity (p’s>.1, Fig.1B). We further examined whether the activation within the regions of FPN and caudate were associated with impulsive behavior outcomes to confirm that the effect of Screen time on FPN-Caudate connectivity strength was linked to inhibitory control ability. During the stop-signal task, as a result, the neural activation in DLPFC, and caudate positively correlated with stop signal delays (p’s<.0001, Fig.2). Taken together, we conclude that children with a longer screen exposure time have a weaker inhibitory intrinsic network, and a higher impulsivity.
In sum, our study revealed specific behavioral and neural correlates of screen exposure using a large database, and suggests that increasing screen exposure time may impair the inhibitory capability and increase impulsivity in developing children.

Authors

• Ya-Yun Chen, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  Presenting Author

• Hyungwook Yim, The University of Melbourne
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tae-Ho Lee, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  Non-Presenting Author