ArticlePloS one2023
Higher theta-beta ratio during screen-based vs. printed paper is related to lower attention in children: An EEG study.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Lower engagement of cognitive control in children on ChatGPT.Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991) · 2026Article
- Teaching stool form recognition in primary school: multimedia versus paper-based instruction using the Bristol stool form scale.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- A Multimodal Neurophysiological Approach to Evaluate Educational Contents in Terms of Cognitive Processes and Engagement.Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Resting-State Electroencephalogram and Speech Perception in Young Children with Developmental Language Disorder.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Neurocardiac signatures of acute mental stress: a sex-comparative study.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Article
- Middle-schoolers' reading and lexical-semantic processing depth in response to digital and print media: An N400 study.PloS one · 2024Article
- Dynamic networks differentiate the language ability of children with cochlear implants.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Reading is considered a non-intuitive, cognitively demanding ability requiring synchronization between several neural networks supporting visual, language processing and higher-order abilities. With the involvement of technology in our everyday life, reading from a screen has become widely used. Several studies point to challenges in processing written materials from the screen due to changes in attention allocation when reading from a screen compared to reading from a printed paper. The current study examined the differences in brain activation when reading from a screen compared to reading from a printed paper focusing on spectral power related to attention in fifteen 6-8-year-old children. Using an electroencephalogram, children read two different age-appropriate texts, without illustrations, presented randomly on the screen and on a printed paper. Data were analyzed using spectral analyses in brain regions related to language, visual processing, and cognitive control, focusing on theta vs. beta waveforms. Results indicated that while reading from a printed paper was accompanied by higher energy in high-frequency bands (beta, gamma), reading from the screen was manifested by a higher power in the lower frequency bands (alpha, theta). Higher theta compared to the beta ratio, representing challenges in allocating attention to a given task, was found for the screen reading compared to the printed paper reading condition. Also, a significant negative correlation was found between differences in theta/beta ratio for screen vs paper reading and accuracy level in the age-normalized Sky-Search task measuring attention and a positive correlation with performance time. These results provide neurobiological support for the greater cognitive load and reduced focused attention during screen-based compared to print-based reading and suggest a different reliance on attention resources for the two conditions in children.
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