Its not a sign of evolution, but more a ditinct reation to training the brain to quickly scan material. Much like someone who can speed read. I don't see how the capacity and usage of the capacity trigger changes at the genetic level to be passed on. This is just sillyness.
What causes evolution is selective genetic traits being propogated over generations. Its a nice social psychology study, but provides no evidence to support its claims of evolution. It may prove that the brain is already powerful enough to reconfigure based on patterned usage. It is most definately not evolution.
This link has been bookmarked by 53 people . It was first bookmarked on 14 Oct 2008, by James OReilly.
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27 Apr 10
eunico do"Pequeñas y colegas supervisaron los cerebros de 24 adultos mientras realiza una simulación de búsqueda Web, y otra vez al leer una página de texto. Durante la búsqueda Web, los que reportaron usar el Internet con regularidad en su vida cotidiana mostraron el doble de lo que señala en las regiones del cerebro responsables de la toma de decisiones y el razonamiento complejo, comparado con aquellos que tenían una exposición limitada a Internet. Los resultados, que se publicarán en la revista American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, sugieren que el uso de Internet aumenta la capacidad del cerebro para ser estimulada, y que la lectura de Internet activa más regiones del cerebro que las palabras impresas. La investigación se suma a los estudios previos que han demostrado que los conocedores de la tecnología entre nosotros poseen mayor memoria de trabajo (lo que significa que puede almacenar y recuperar más bits de información en el corto plazo), son más expertos en aprendizaje perceptivo (es decir, ajustando su percepción del mundo en respuesta a los cambios de la información), y tienen mejores habilidades motoras."
cerebros-jovenes investigación cambio technology tecnologías internet psychology research brain
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07 Feb 10
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27 Oct 09
Dr. Camille Dempseyleading neuroscientist says processing digital information can rewire your circuits. But is it evolution?
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19 Oct 09
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10 Jul 09
Maximillian KaizenTo see how the Internet might be rewiring us, Small and colleagues monitored the brains of 24 adults as they performed a simulated Web search, and again as they read a page of text. During the Web search, those who reported using the Internet regularly in
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superior cognitive abilities to make snap decisions and juggle multiple sources of sensory input. On the other side, digital immigrants—those who witnessed the advent of modern technology long after their brains had been hardwired—are better at reading facial expressions than they are at navigating cyberspace. "The typical immigrant's brain was trained in completely different ways of socializing and learning, taking things step-by-step and addressing one task at a time," he says. "Immigrants learn more methodically and tend to execute tasks more precisely."
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09 Apr 09
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Add Sticky NoteSmall and colleagues monitored the brains of 24 adults as they performed a simulated Web search, and again as they read a page of text. During the Web search, those who reported using the Internet regularly in their everyday lives showed twice as much signaling in brain regions responsible for decision-making and complex reasoning, compared with those who had limited Internet exposure. The findings, to be published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, suggest that Internet use enhances the brain's capacity to be stimulated, and that Internet reading activates more brain regions than printed words. The research adds to previous studies that have shown that the tech-savvy among us possess greater working memory (meaning they can store and retrieve more bits of information in the short term), are more adept at perceptual learning (that is, adjusting their perception of the world in response to changing information), and have better motor skills.
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20 Mar 09
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05 Mar 09
DeShaunda Gooden WarnerA leading neuroscientist says processing digital information can rewire your circuits. But is it evolution?
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23 Feb 09
Michel BauwensIn brain studies conducted at UCLA, and summarized in a new book, iBRAIN (reviewed in October 14th's Newsweek), neuroscientist Gary Small reports that regular users of the Internet had more brain activity in centers devoted to decision-making and complex
P2P-Epistemology P2P-Learning Collective-Intelligence P2P-Subjectivity P2P
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Reading This Will Change Your Brain
A leading neuroscientist says processing digital information can rewire your circuits. But is it evolution?
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Is technology changing our brains? A new study by UCLA neuroscientist Gary Small adds to a growing body of research that says it is. And according to Small's new book, "iBRAIN: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind," a dramatic shift in how we gather information and communicate with one another has touched off an era of rapid evolution that may ultimately change the human brain as we know it. "Perhaps not since early man first discovered how to use a tool has the human brain been affected so quickly and so dramatically," he writes. "As the brain evolves and shifts its focus towards new technological skills, it drifts away from fundamental social skills."
The impact of technology on our circuitry should not come as a surprise. The brain's plasticity—it's ability to change in response to different stimuli—is well known. Professional musicians have more gray matter in brain regions responsible for planning finger movements. And athletes' brains are bulkier in areas that control hand-eye coordination. That's because the more time you devote to a specific activity, the stronger the neural pathways responsible for executing that activity become. So it makes sense that people who process a constant stream of digital information would have more neurons dedicated to filtering that information. Still, that's not the same thing as evolution.
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Small says these differences are likely to be even more profound across generations, because younger people are exposed to more technology from an earlier age than older people. He refers to this as the brain gap.
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On one side, what he calls digital natives—those who have never known a world without e-mail and text messaging—use their superior cognitive abilities to make snap decisions and juggle multiple sources of sensory input. On the other side, digital immigrants—those who witnessed the advent of modern technology long after their brains had been hardwired—are better at reading facial expressions than they are at navigating cyberspace. "The typical immigrant's brain was trained in completely different ways of socializing and learning, taking things step-by-step and addressing one task at a time," he says. "Immigrants learn more methodically and tend to execute tasks more precisely."
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22 Oct 08
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20 Oct 08
Kellie AdyInteresting article about the impact of internet reading on the brain.
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19 Oct 08
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17 Oct 08
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Vance StevensHow Internet rewiring us, Small and colleagues monitored the brains of 24 adults as they performed a simulated Web search, and again as they read a page of text. During the Web search, those who reported using the Internet regularly in their everyday live
reading research literacy cognitive multiliteracies newsweek article
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Joan Vinall-CoxUsing the web changes our plastic brains, (just like reading changes the wiring in our brains and reading has changed our culture radically). Been sayng this for years, based on my readings on reading. Glad to see the impact of web usage on our brains has been researched and documented. Especially glad that it's good for seniors' brains;->
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16 Oct 08
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Harold JarcheInternet reading activates more brain regions than printed words
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Nancy Joneshow use of technology /computers is actually changing the way the brain functions
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Add Sticky NoteSmall and colleagues monitored the brains of 24 adults as they performed a simulated Web search, and again as they read a page of text. During the Web search, those who reported using the Internet regularly in their everyday lives showed twice as much signaling in brain regions responsible for decision-making and complex reasoning, compared with those who had limited Internet exposure. The findings, to be published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, suggest that Internet use enhances the brain's capacity to be stimulated, and that Internet reading activates more brain regions than printed words. The research adds to previous studies that have shown that the tech-savvy among us possess greater working memory (meaning they can store and retrieve more bits of information in the short term), are more adept at perceptual learning (that is, adjusting their perception of the world in response to changing information), and have better motor skills.
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I think it could be hyperlinks and data aggregation through search that does this. With a few keywords, similar data is clustered (and the mind understands how it is related to the keywords) and displayed on screen. Relevant bits of this data are immediate, and details are there through a hyperlink. You can traverse connected data with relative ease.
Operating with data in this manner in such a short period of time allows a faux expertise to develop - relevant bits of information all at hand allow for an informed decision to be made. As the mind grows accustomed to this behaviour, it sucks information out of whatever is available and works with it as best it can.
Practice makes perfect!
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15 Oct 08
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Small says these differences are likely to be even more profound across generations, because younger people are exposed to more technology from an earlier age than older people. He refers to this as the brain gap. On one side, what he calls digital natives—those who have never known a world without e-mail and text messaging—use their superior cognitive abilities to make snap decisions and juggle multiple sources of sensory input. On the other side, digital immigrants—those who witnessed the advent of modern technology long after their brains had been hardwired—are better at reading facial expressions than they are at navigating cyberspace. "The typical immigrant's brain was trained in completely different ways of socializing and learning, taking things step-by-step and addressing one task at a time," he says. "Immigrants learn more methodically and tend to execute tasks more precisely."
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Add Sticky NoteAnd as Small himself points out, digital natives and digital immigrants can direct their own neural circuitry—reaping the cognitive benefits of modern technology while preserving traditional social skills—simply by making time for both
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I think that balance is huge. Too many times people are one or the other and don't want to try to mesh the two.
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Reuven WerberTo see how the Internet might be rewiring us, Small and colleagues monitored the brains of 24 adults as they performed a simulated Web search, and again as they read a page of text. During the Web search, those who reported using the Internet regularly in
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John EvansIs technology changing our brains? A new study by UCLA neuroscientist Gary Small adds to a growing body of research that says it is. And according to Small's new book, "iBRAIN: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind," a dramatic shift in how we gather information and communicate with one another has touched off an era of rapid evolution that may ultimately change the human brain as we know it.
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Jeff JohnsonIs technology changing our brains? A new study by UCLA neuroscientist Gary Small adds to a growing body of research that says it is. And according to Small's new book, "iBRAIN: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind," a dramatic shift in how we gather information and communicate with one another has touched off an era of rapid evolution that may ultimately change the human brain as we know it. "Perhaps not since early man first discovered how to use a tool has the human brain been affected so quickly and so dramatically," he writes. "As the brain evolves and shifts its focus towards new technological skills, it drifts away from fundamental social skills."
DigitalNative Digital_Native technology brain change Newsweek Newsweek.com
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Perhaps not since early man first discovered how to use a tool has the human brain been affected so quickly and so dramatically
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. The findings, to be published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, suggest that Internet use enhances the brain's capacity to be stimulated, and that Internet reading activates more brain regions than printed words.
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. "The typical immigrant's brain was trained in completely different ways of socializing and learning, taking things step-by-step and addressing one task at a time," he says. "Immigrants learn more methodically and tend to execute tasks more precisely
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edtechtalkA leading neuroscientist says processing digital information can rewire your circuits. But is it evolution?
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Jennifer MaddrellA leading neuroscientist says processing digital information can rewire your circuits. But is it evolution?
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14 Oct 08
Public Stiky Notes
What causes evolution is selective genetic traits being propogated over generations. Its a nice social psychology study, but provides no evidence to support its claims of evolution. It may prove that the brain is already powerful enough to reconfigure based on patterned usage. It is most definately not evolution.
Operating with data in this manner in such a short period of time allows a faux expertise to develop - relevant bits of information all at hand allow for an informed decision to be made. As the mind grows accustomed to this behaviour, it sucks information out of whatever is available and works with it as best it can.
Practice makes perfect!
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