Screen time, brain network development and socio-emotional competence in childhood: moderation of associations by parent-child reading

Abstract

Background: Screen time in infancy is linked to changes in social-emotional development but the pathway underlying this association remains unknown. We aim to provide mechanistic insights into this association using brain network topology and to examine the potential role of parent-child reading in mitigating the effects of screen time.

Methods: We examined the association of screen time on brain network topology using linear regression analysis and tested if the network topology mediated the association between screen time and later socio-emotional competence. Lastly, we tested if parent-child reading time was a moderator of the link between screen time and brain network topology.

Results: Infant screen time was significantly associated with the emotion processing-cognitive control network integration (p = 0.005). This network integration also significantly mediated the association between screen time and both measures of socio-emotional competence (BRIEF-2 Emotion Regulation Index, p = 0.04; SEARS total score, p = 0.04). Parent-child reading time significantly moderated the association between screen time and emotion processing-cognitive control network integration (β = -0.640, p = 0.005).

Conclusion: Our study identified emotion processing-cognitive control network integration as a plausible biological pathway linking screen time in infancy and later socio-emotional competence. We also provided novel evidence for the role of parent-child reading in moderating the association between screen time and topological brain restructuring in early childhood.

Keywords: Brain network measures; children brain development; diffusion MRI; emotion regulation; screen time.

Figure 1.

Study design and analytical approach. We collected screen time measures at 1–4 years of age and measures of parent–child reading at age 3. An MRI brain was performed at age 6, from which measures of brain network topology were computed. This is followed by evaluation of socio-emotional competence at age 7 using the BRIEF-2 and SEARS parental questionnaires. Note: BRIEF-2: Behavior Rating Inventory for Executive Function-Version 2, SEARS: Social Emotional Assets and Resilience Scales, n = number of participants.

Figure 2.

Extraction of network measures (A) Fourteen regions-of-interest (ROIs) were identified a priori, representing major nodes of the emotion processing (amygdala, hippocampus), reward processing (nucleus accumbens, orbital frontal cortex; OFC, anterior cingulate cortex; ACC), and cognitive control (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; DLPFC, posterior parietal cortex; PPC) networks. (B) Structural connectivity matrix was generated using the total number of tractography streamlines between each pair of ROIs. (C) The ROIs were grouped into three networks (RP; reward processing, CC; cognitive control, EP; emotion processing) which were used to generate the allegiance matrix. The diagonal elements represent the network recruitment coefficient and the off-diagonal elements represent the network integration coefficient. (D) A graphical illustration of the network recruitment and network integration measures. Each circle represents a ROI, and the thickness of the lines represents the probability of the two ROIs being clustered together by the Louvain community detection algorithm.

Figure 3.

Residual plots showing the correlation between adjusted brain network integration and recruitment coefficients and the normalized screen time utilization (screen time) measure. All covariates were regressed out to generate the adjusted network measures. Beta coefficients and p-values are included in the insets. Our results show that only emotion processing-cognitive control network integration was significantly correlated with the normalized screen time measure. ⁺ indicates p < 0.05 (uncorrected) * indicates p < 0.008 (Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons).

Figure 4.

Mediation analysis revealed that the integration between emotional processing and cognitive control networks significantly mediates (p = 0.0362) the relationship between screen time and BRIEF-2 Emotional Regulation Index (ERI) score at 7 years (Panel A). Mediation analysis also revealed that the integration between emotional processing and cognitive control networks significantly mediates (p = 0.043) the relationship between screen time and SEARS total score at 7 years (Panel B). Specifically, increased screen time leads to increased emotion processing-cognitive control network integration. In turn, this leads to higher scores on the BRIEF ERI scale, indicating poorer emotion regulation abilities, and a lower SEARS total score, indicating decreased emotional resilience.

Figure 5.

Parent–child reading shows a significant moderating effect (Panel A, p = 0.005) on the association between screen time and emotion processing-cognitive control network integration. At low levels of parent–child reading time, high levels of screen time increase the degree of emotion processing-cognitive control network integration (Panel B, blue; min). Conversely, at high levels of parent–child reading time, high levels of screen time do not increase the degree of emotion processing-cognitive control network integration (Panel B, red; one standard deviation above mean). −1 standard deviation was not plotted as there is no negative value for parent–child reading time.