December 10, 2018
According to an American study, screens are responsible for modifying the structure of children’s brains and influencing their emotional development.
A large study conducted over 10 years with 11,000 children
What is the influence of screens on the physical structure of the brains of children and adolescents, as well as on their emotional development and mental health? It is to this question that the American federal state wanted to answer by conducting a vast study through the American National Institutes of Health (NIH), during 10 years with 11,000 children.
To conduct their study, scientists began by having 4,500 children aged 9 to 10 undergo MRI scans at 21 sites across the country. ” MRI revealed significant differences in the brains of some children using smartphones, tablets, and video games for more than seven hours a day Explains Dr. Gaya Dowling of NIH.
Overexposure to screens alters children’s cortex
The results of this study, unveiled by the television channel CBS, are quite scary: children’s brains exposed to screens for too long have premature thinning of the cortex, that is, the outermost layer of the brain which processes information sent by the five senses.
Another revelation from this study: ” children who spend more than two hours a day on screens score lower on thinking and language tests. “ Screens would also generate an addiction mechanism in children : According to Dr. Bagot, interviewed by CBS, “ screen time stimulates the release of dopamine, a brain chemical that plays a central role in cravings and cravings. ”
We will have to wait a few more years to see a real decline in the effect of screens on health but we already know that like alcohol, they should be consumed in moderation …
Aurélie Giraud
