Functional Connectivity of Attention Visual and Language Networks During Audio Illustrated and Animated Stories in Preschool-Age Children

摘要

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents read with their children early and often and limits on screen-based media. While book sharing may benefit attention in children, effects of animated content are controversial, and the influence of either on attention networks has not previously been studied. This study involved functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of three separate active-task scans composed of similar 5-min stories presented in the same order for each child (audio → illustrated → animated), followed by assessment of comprehension. Five functional brain networks were defined through literature review: dorsal attention network (DAN), ventral attention network (VAN), language (L), visual imagery (VI), and visual perception (VP). Analyses involved comparison of functional connectivity (FC) within- and between networks across formats, applying false discovery rate correction. Twenty-seven of 33 children completed fMRI (82%; 15 boys, 12 girls; mean 58 ± 8 months old). Comprehension of audio and illustrated stories was equivalent and lower for animation (