Date on Senior Honors Thesis
5-2020
Document Type
Senior Honors Thesis
Degree Name
B.S.
Department
Psychological and Brain Sciences
Degree Program
College of Arts and Sciences
Author's Keywords
MRI; morphometry; reward; screen usage; addiction
Abstract
Today’s world is inundated with technology and our use of screens. It is possible that screen usage might affect the structural development of brain systems underlying motivation, reward, and addiction. Two hundred and thirty-two 10-year-old individuals’ structural MRI and behavioral data from a publicly accessible database were analyzed to find relations between the cortical and subcortical regions of the reward circuits of the brain and the usage of social media, texting, television, YouTube and other video applications, video games, and video chat applications. Both cortical and subcortical results yielded significant relationships with variables of screen time usage. Most significantly, subcortical brain regions known to be involved in the reward system were structurally affected by duration of screen usage. These results implicate brain changes beyond the explicit structural changes in response to the ubiquitous use of screens within our society and warrant the further study of how this affects our reward system and attention.
Recommended Citation
Hodge, Lucus Kiger, "Screen usage relates to neuroanatomy underlying reward processing." (2020). College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses. Paper 216.
Retrieved from https://ir.library.louisville.edu/honors/216
Lay Summary
Today’s world is inundated with technology and our use of screens. It is possible that screen usage might affect the development of the brain. Specifically, screen usage (i.e., social media and cellular phones) may become addictive, like substances of abuse (e.g., alcohol and cigarettes). The current study examined brain regions related to addiction and the usage of social media, texting, television, YouTube and other video applications, video games, and video chat applications. Results showed that brain regions known to be involved in addiction were structurally affected by duration of screen usage. These results implicate brain changes in response to the ubiquitous use of screens within our society and warrant the further study of how this affects our behavior.
