Impact of digital addiction tendency on inhibitory control in preschoolers: An fNIRS study

Abstract

The increasing prevalence of digital devices in the lives of preschool-aged children raises concerns about their effects on early childhood development, particularly on inhibitory control, an essential cognitive function. This study investigates the relationship between digital addiction tendencies and inhibitory control using functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure brain activation during a Fruit Stroop task. A sample of 71 typically developing preschoolers (29 boys, M _age = 60.73, SD = 7.79 months) was recruited, with 34 participants categorized into the high digital addiction tendency (HDAT) group (13 boys, M _age = 61.59, SD = 7.74 months) and 37 into the low digital addiction tendency (LDAT) group (16 boys, M _age = 59.95, SD = 7.86 months). The findings revealed that (1) accuracy of LDAT was highest under inhibition conditions while accuracy of HDAT was lowest under neutral conditions; (2)children in HDAT group exhibited significantly lower activation in the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal Cortex and premotor Cortex compared to their counterparts in LDAT; (3) during the inhibition task, the LDAT group demonstrated substantially higher activation in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus, while the HDAT group showed significantly lower activation in the right inferior frontal gyrus during the neutral task; and (4) a correlation was found between left prefrontal cortex activation and accuracy in the LDAT group under neutral conditions, however, no correlation between brian activation and behavioral data was found in the HDAT. These results underscore the potential negative impacts of excessive digital use on preschoolers’ inhibitory control, providing valuable insights for educators and caregivers regarding digital consumption management for young children.