Screen time and brain structure

Could Too Much Screen Time Change Preschoolers' Brain Structure?

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by David G. Fairchild, MD, MPH, and Jaye Elizabeth Hefner, MD

Preschoolers who spend too much time in front of screens show differences in brain development that could affect language and reading skills, suggests a cross-sectional study in JAMA Pediatrics.

Nearly 50 healthy children aged 3 to 5 years underwent cognitive testing and brain magnetic resonance imaging, while their parents completed questionnaires about their screen-based media use.

Children with higher screen time scores had lower scores on some cognitive tests, but these associations were no longer statistically significant after adjustment for household income. However, MRI revealed that children with higher screen scores had lower microstructural integrity of brain white matter tracts that are involved in early language and literacy development — a finding that persisted after adjustment.

Dr. Jenny Radesky of NEJM Journal Watch Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine weighs in: "These findings are fascinating but very, very preliminary. This study is cross-sectional and therefore doesn't prove causality. Like all media research, we need to study children over time to observe interactions between their innate characteristics and their media use. For example, do children with developmental differences (e.g., early ADHD) who may have a particular white matter phenotype happen to prefer or demand more media use, or is media use influencing white matter development?"

JAMA Pediatrics article (Free abstract)

Background: NEJM Journal Watch Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine coverage of screen time & ADHD symptoms in preschoolers (Your NEJM Journal Watch registration required)

Background: Physician's First Watch coverage of AAP recommendations on kids' media use (Free)

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Skin Care Physicians of Costa Rica

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