Smartphones Have Changed The Relationship Between Our Brains And Thumbs
- 9 years ago
Smartphones are changing the relationship between our brains and thumbs, says a team of scientists from the University of Zurich.
Smartphones are changing the relationship between our brains and thumbs, says a team of scientists from the University of Zurich.
Through experiments they found a correlation between the time spent hitting a touchscreen with one’s fingers and the strength of activity in the brain.
Establishing use patterns was simple, as the phones themselves keep track of such data.
To get a read on the relationship between fingertip stimulation and brain signal strength they enlisted the help of the EEG machine, which monitors the neural electrical activity.
In the name of establishing a means for comparison, the researchers also assembled a group of people who hadn’t yet abandoned their not-so-smart phones, particularly the kind with actual buttons on the keypad.
The team found that among the touchscreen device users there was significantly more brain activity when the tips of their thumbs, forefingers, and middle fingers were touched.
Flurries specifically in the thumb and forefinger regions of the cortex were found to be in direct correlation with how much and how recently subjects had used their smartphones. (
The study’s authors concluded that repetitive movements were in fact influencing sensory processing and that, “the contemporary brain is continuously shaped by the use of personal digital technology."
Smartphones are changing the relationship between our brains and thumbs, says a team of scientists from the University of Zurich.
Through experiments they found a correlation between the time spent hitting a touchscreen with one’s fingers and the strength of activity in the brain.
Establishing use patterns was simple, as the phones themselves keep track of such data.
To get a read on the relationship between fingertip stimulation and brain signal strength they enlisted the help of the EEG machine, which monitors the neural electrical activity.
In the name of establishing a means for comparison, the researchers also assembled a group of people who hadn’t yet abandoned their not-so-smart phones, particularly the kind with actual buttons on the keypad.
The team found that among the touchscreen device users there was significantly more brain activity when the tips of their thumbs, forefingers, and middle fingers were touched.
Flurries specifically in the thumb and forefinger regions of the cortex were found to be in direct correlation with how much and how recently subjects had used their smartphones. (
The study’s authors concluded that repetitive movements were in fact influencing sensory processing and that, “the contemporary brain is continuously shaped by the use of personal digital technology."