Tablet Use Affects Preschoolers' Executive Function: fNIRS Evidence from the Dimensional Change Card Sort Task

Hui Li; Dandan Wu; Jinfeng Yang; Jiutong Luo; Sha Xie; Chunqi Chang

doi:10.3390/brainsci11050567

Tablet Use Affects Preschoolers' Executive Function: fNIRS Evidence from the Dimensional Change Card Sort Task

Brain Sci. 2021 Apr 29;11(5):567. doi: 10.3390/brainsci11050567.

Authors

Hui Li¹, Dandan Wu¹, Jinfeng Yang², Jiutong Luo³, Sha Xie⁴, Chunqi Chang²

Affiliations

¹ School of Education, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
² School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518061, China.
³ Center for Educational Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, Zhuhai 519085, China.
⁴ Normal College, The GBA Institute of Educational Research, and The Institute of KEEP Collaborative Innovation, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518061, China.

Abstract

This study aims to examine the impact of heavy use of tablets on preschoolers' executive function during the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task using the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Altogether, 38 Chinese preschoolers (M_age = 5.0 years, SD = 0.69 years, 17 girls) completed the tasks before the COVID-19 lockdown. Eight children never used tablets, while 16 children were diagnosed as the 'heavy-user'. The results indicated that: (1) the 'non-user' outperformed the 'heavy-user' with a significantly higher correct rate in the DCCS task; (2) the two groups differed significantly in the activation of the prefrontal cortex (BA 9): the 'non-user' pattern is normal and healthy, whereas the 'heavy-user' pattern is not normal and needs further exploration.

Keywords: Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task; executive function; fNIRS evidence; pad use; preschoolers.