EP39: Infant Screen Time's Hidden Cost: EEG Links to Age 9 Cognitive Skills

Modern infants often exceed the screen time recommendations set by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). But what happens inside their developing brains? A crucial, long-term prospective study in Singapore reveals that infant screen exposure (at 12 months) is linked to attention and executive function (EF) deficits observed at age nine. Importantly, Electroencephalography (EEG) confirmed that this association is partially mediated by altered cortical activity observed before age two. This provides concrete, potential neural evidence regarding the long-term impact of early screen use on cognitive functions. References： Law, E. C., Han, M. X., Lai, Z., Lim, S., Ong, Z. Y., Ng, V., Gabard-Durnam, L. J., Wilkinson, C. L., Levin, A. R., Rifkin-Graboi, A., Daniel, L. M., Gluckman, P. D., Chong, Y. S., Meaney, M. J., & Nelson, C. A. (2023). Associations between infant screen use, electroencephalography markers, and cognitive outcomes. JAMA Pediatrics, 177(3), 311–318. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.5674 -- Hosting provided by SoundOn