Texting Produces an Entirely New Kind of Brain Wave Pattern
Texting Produces an Entirely New Kind of Brain Wave
Pattern
By George Dvorsky
June 28, 2016 7:03 AM PDT
A research team from the Mayo Clinic has shown that text
messaging changes the rhythm of brain wave patterns in a way that’s never seen
before. The discovery shows that smartphones are literally altering the way our
minds work.
We’re texting more than ever, yet little is known about
the neurological effects of smartphone use. A new study shows that textural
communication elicits a unique waveform, or “texting rhythm,” in the brains of
some individuals. It’s a fascinating finding, one that shows how incredibly
adaptable our brains really are, and how our cognitive processes change when
confronted with new and mentally challenging technologies.
Now, sending texts on your smartphone may not sound like
a particularly challenging task, but there’s a lot going on when you’re putting
together a message. In addition to formulating a succinct, nonverbal message
(not to mention choosing that critically important emoji), smartphone users
need to be able to hold the device, apply fine finger dexterity while typing,
and focus their eyes on a relatively small screen. Together, all these tasks
are tapping into various compartments of the interconnected brain, and together
they’re producing the new texting rhythm.
William Tatum, the lead author of the new study, put it
this way: “We believe this new rhythm is an objective metric of the brain’s
ability to process non-verbal information during use of electronic devices and
that it is heavily connected to a widely distributed network augmented by
attention or emotion.”
To make the discovery, Tatum’s team at the Mayo Clinic
analyzed electroencephalogram (EEG) data from nearly 130 participants. In
conjunction with video footage, their brain waves were monitored over a period
of 16 months. The researchers found that at least one in five participants who
were texting with their smartphones exhibited the new texting rhythm. (It’s not
immediately clear why 4 out of 5 participants did not experience this effect,
so more research is clearly needed.) This neurological effect was also produced
when participants used an iPad, but not when smartphones were used as
traditional audio cellular phones.
These results held true even after screening for
demographic information, such as age, gender, and other factors. It’s important
to note that this study, which was published in the Epilepsy and Behavior
journal, included many participants with epilepsy. But the researchers stressed
that the texting rhythm effect was unrelated to this neurological condition.
Looking ahead, this discovery could influence the
development of text messaging interfaces, gaming, and brain-computer
interfacing, not to mention further research into the cognitive effects of
nonverbal communication. It also shows that texting while driving—because of
its intense cognitive demand—is a supremely dangerous thing to do.
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