Kanwal Shahbaz
Kanwal Shahbaz, a member of the American Psychological Association, and an academician, is a dedicated PhD candidate at the School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia. Kanwal is at the forefront of uncovering how screen time affects the developing adolescent brain. Through advance cutting-edge brain imaging techniques like 3D T1- and T2-weighted Structural MRI, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, and a variety of Functional MRI tasks, including Resting State, Monetary Incentive Delay, Stop Signal, and Emotional N-Back, she delves into the intricate brain-behavior dynamics.
By leveraging the ABCD data, Kanwal is currently mapping how screen exposure relates to the functional organization of brain and its association with the error monitoring, impulsivity, cost-benefit analysis, and inhibitory control. Looking to the future, Kanwal aims to create a comprehensive brain template to decode the complex relationship between neurobiology and behavior, using Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Algorithms.
Sessions
Excessive Social Media Usage and its consequences have become a pressing global debate with developing technology and mental health issues. The current study utilized data (n=11,878) from Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development to trace the associations between ESMU and the developing brain. Using the Powerly Package on R, the Longitudinal Network Analysis approach was used to measure the relationship between the developing Anterior Cingulate Cortex and the ESMU. For this, Diffusion Tensor Imaging (Fractional Anisotropy), T2 weighted Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Inner Shell) and Social Media Addiction Scale were used respectively across two time points. The findings reveal associations between ESMU and microstructural and volumetric changes in the developing brain. At T2, changes in the right and left hemisphere middle anterior cingulate gyrus and sulci were observed; these areas are responsible for goal-directed behavior, attention regulation, emotions, inhibitory control, error monitoring, and motivation. Similarly, at T4, changes in the right and left posterior dorsal cingulate gyrus were observed to be involved in the encoding and retrieval of episodic memories (not semantic) and the retrieval of autobiographical memories, as well as imagining the future. The findings call for longer follow-ups on the impact of social media on brain development.
Kanwal Shahbaz1, Bruno Shivinski2, Vasileios Stavropoulos1
1 School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia
2 School of Media and Communication, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia
Correspondence: Kanwal.shahbaz@rmit.edu.au
Abstract
Introduction: Digital screens take an increasingly substantial portion of children’s time with unclear detrimental associations with neuronal activity in the developing brain and likewise its connectivity with the behavior among adolescents. To address this global issue, we investigated the association of screen usage time (TV, video games, online video, social media, texting, video chat) including social media and video game addiction with structural and volumetric changes in the brain.
Methods: For this purpose, we assessed the data from the largest longitudinal ABCD study, started at the ages of 9-10 and following participants for 10 years, including a diverse sample of around 12,000 youth enrolled at 21 research sites across the country. We investigated one principal hypothesis excessive screen usage time is associated with structural and volumetric changes in the brain. The changes in the brain were assessed through structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging sMRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) using the sMRI-T2 intensity White Matter and DTI (Inner shell) Fractional Isotropy white Matter through Destrieux Brain Atlas-72 ROI focused on the white matter of Anterior Cingulate Cortex across 3-time points (T0, T2, T4).
Results:
Using the Longitudinal Network Analysis, the results did not support the structural changes in the brain however at baseline connectivity is evident between Social Media, Texting, and video chat with the Right hemisphere Cingulate Gyrus and Sulci and Right Marginal branch of the Cingulate Gyrus Sulci compared to other brain regions. Likewise, Social Media and Texting and the Right and Left Posterior Ventral Cingulate Gyrus have shown high centrality with significant global strength of the network. The study is under development at the School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia.
Discussion:
The findings highlight the significance of connections between screen usage and volumetric changes in the brain. The brain regions associated with inhibitory control, motivation, and error monitoring are at risk with increased use of digital media. However, the participant's subjective experience and the content of the media usage shall be further considered for an in-depth mapping of the developing brain helping to target community-based interventions related to healthy screen habits for the flourishing brain.
Keywords: adolescents; digital media use; longitudinal network analysis; MRI, Diffusion Tensor Imaging, White Matter, Anterior Cingulate Cortex