Aims: The present study aims to examine: (1) the relationship between young children’s bilingualism and their performance in the Dimensional Card Change Sort (DCCS) task; and (2) whether prefrontal activation was associated with children’s bilingualism and executive function. Methodology: Children performed three sessions of the DCCS and their brain activity during the task was measured using functional nearinfrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Data and analysis: A sample of bilingual children ( N = 49) was recruited from a preschool with an English immersion program. We examined whether children’s performance in the DCCS was related to their bilingualism and whether the changes in oxygenated hemoglobin in the prefrontal regions were related to their bilingualism and performance in the DCCS. Findings/conclusions: Results showed that children’s English ability was significantly correlated with their behavioral performance in DCCS, and predicted children’s group membership (pass or perseverate). Furthermore, children in the pass group significantly activated the prefrontal cortex than those in the perseverate group, and activation in the prefrontal region was significantly correlated with children’s English ability. Originality: The current study first examined the effect of children’s bilingualism on their executive function and prefrontal activation.

This study aims to examine the impact of heavy use of tablets on preschoolers’ executive function during the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task using the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Altogether, 38 Chinese preschoolers (Mage = 5.0 years, SD = 0.69 years, 17 girls) completed the tasks before the COVID-19 lockdown. Eight children never used tablets, while 16 children were diagnosed as the ‘heavy-user’. The results indicated that: (1) the ‘non-user’ outperformed the ‘heavy-user’ with a significantly higher correct rate in the DCCS task; (2) the two groups differed significantly in the activation of the prefrontal cortex (BA 9): the ‘non-user’ pattern is normal and healthy, whereas the ‘heavy-user’ pattern is not normal and needs further exploration.

This study aims to examine the neural correlates of cognitive shifting during the Dimensional Change Card Sort Task (DCCS) task with functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Altogether 49 children completed the DCCS tasks, and 25 children (Mage = 68.66, SD = 5.3) passing all items were classified into the Switch group. Twenty children (Mage = 62.05, SD = 8.13) committing more than one perseverative errors were grouped into the Perseverate group. The Switch group had Brodmann Area (BA) 9 and 10 activated in the pre-switch period and BA 6, 9, 10, 40, and 44 in the post-switch period. In contrast, the Perseverate group had BA 9 and 10 activated in the pre-switch period and BA 8, 9, 10 in the post-switch period. The general linear model results afford strong support to the “V-shape curve” hypothesis by identifying a significant decrease–increase cycle in BA 9 and 44, the neural correlations of cognitive shifting.

This study examined the association between media multitasking and executive function in Chinese adolescents by comparing heavy/high and light/low media multitaskers, i.e., HMMs and LMMs, with self-reports, behavioral measures and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The participants were 12 HMMs (media multitasking scores above the 75th percentile) and 10 LMMs (media multitasking scores below the 25th percentile) chosen from a sample of 61 adolescents. Each participant completed a self-reported questionnaire on executive function and three executive function cognitive tasks: 2-back, Color Stroop, and Number-letter Determination) while wearing the fNIRS. The results indicated that: (1) the HMMs showed more impairment in executive function than the LMMs based on questionnaire data analysis; (2) there were no significant differences between the HMMs and LMMs in their performance on the cognitive tasks; and (3) the HMMs showed greater prefrontal activation than the LMMs during the 2-back and Color Stroop tasks. These findings implied that media multitasking might be associated with the reduced effectiveness in the brain areas responsible for executive function. These findings provide evidence of the negative relationship between media multitasking and executive function; and indicated the benefits of using multiple assessment methods in studying this topic.

This study examined the neural correlates of mental rota on (MR) in preschoolers using func onal near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Fortyeight preschoolers completed a MR task in which they were asked to rotate a test s mulus to match a target s mulus. Results of compara ve and General Linear Model (GLM) analyses revealed significant differences between the High Performance (HP) and Low Performance (LP) groups. The two groups differed significantly in oxyhaemoglobin (HbO) change in Brodmann Areas (BAs) 6, 9 and 44. Specifically, significant increase in HbO in BA 44 was observed in both groups, while significant decrease in deoxyhaemoglobin (HbR) in BA 9 was observed only in the HP group and in BA 44 only in the LP group. These results jointly indicated BA 44 as one of the core neural correlates of MR in preschoolers, while BA 6 and BA 9 might also be involved in MR processing under a compensatory mechanism.

This study develops two scales, namely, the outside school social media behavior (OSSMB) scale and inside school social media behavior (ISSMB) scale, to measure the types of behavior that adolescent students engage in on social media in two separate contexts: outside school and inside school. Data collected from 814 students in four Hong Kong secondary schools were divided into two equal data sets ( n = 407 for each) by random selection and then analyzed. Principle component analysis (PCA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to generate and test the structures of the two scales on the different data sets. The PCA results showed good factor loadings for all items (all above .60), and satisfactory total variance were explained by the both structures (69.06% for the OSSMB and 75.30% for the ISSMB). The CFA results showed acceptable model fits for both first- and second-order CFA for both scales. The internal consistency for all factors (and subdimensions) and the two scales were also acceptable. The 21-item OSSMB scale has four subdimensions: Consuming, Communicating, Creating, and Sharing. The 10-item ISSMB scale has three subdimensions: Consuming, Creating, and Sharing. In conclusion, this study provides new tools and conceptual frameworks for assessing students’ social media behavior in two contexts (i.e., outside and inside of school).

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