The hidden costs of screen time: altered brain network efficiency in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Yang Xue, Yu Zhang, Miaoshui Bai, Hanyu Dong, Junyan Feng, Fei-Yong Jia

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in BMC psychiatry, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed

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1 · What the graph read from it

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Yang XueDepartment of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Children's Medical Center, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin University, No.1 Xinmin Street, Changchun, 130021, China.

Yu ZhangDepartment of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Children's Medical Center, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin University, No.1 Xinmin Street, Changchun, 130021, China.

Miaoshui BaiDepartment of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Children's Medical Center, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin University, No.1 Xinmin Street, Changchun, 130021, China.

Hanyu DongDepartment of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Children's Medical Center, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin University, No.1 Xinmin Street, Changchun, 130021, China.

Junyan FengDepartment of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Children's Medical Center, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin University, No.1 Xinmin Street, Changchun, 130021, China.

Fei-Yong JiaDepartment of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, Children's Medical Center, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Jilin University, No.1 Xinmin Street, Changchun, 130021, China. jiafy@jlu.edu.cn.

Funding

Cohort Study on Brain and Intelligence Development of School-aged Children in China 2021ZD0200500

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This study examined how prolonged screen time (ST) affects brain network efficiency in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) using graph theory analysis. Participants (N = 164) were divided into low-dose exposure (LDE, n = 108) and high-dose exposure (HDE, n = 56) groups. Clinical data and brain topological properties were compared between groups. The HDE group exhibited significantly greater autism severity and poorer language development than those with LDE. The HDE group showed significantly reduced global (Eglob) and local efficiency (Eloc). The LDE group exhibited higher nodal efficiency (Enod) in the right precentral gyrus, parietal lobe, and left superior temporal gyrus (STG), along with increased nodal degree in the right ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), right thalamus (CON network), and left STG and increased betweenness in the left ventral frontal cortex (vFC) of the CON, left post cingulate of DMN and right vmPFC in the default mode network(DMN). There were significant positive correlations between Eglob and both eye-hand coordination DQ and ST. Excessive ST is associated with alterations in brain network topology in ASD children, particularly in the DMN, impairing information integration and segregation efficiency.

Indexed as

Autism Spectrum DisorderBrainNerve NetScreen TimeBrain MappingChildFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMedia ExposureASDBrain networkGraph theory analysisrs-fMRIScreen time

Identifiers

PMID41578232

DOI10.1186/s12888-026-07841-4

PMCPMC12911068

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND

Read underepoch 390

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.