• 19 Oct 09
  

  Tom De Craene

  brain research Digital_Native

• 10 Jul 09
  

  Maximillian Kaizen

  To 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 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.

  brain science digitalnative

  • 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."
• 09 Apr 09
  

  blast461
  • 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 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.

    • 

      blast461 on 2009-04-09

      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.
• 20 Mar 09
  

  dave zukor

  education technology digital media science research brain digitalnative

• 05 Mar 09
  

  DeShaunda Gooden Warner

  A leading neuroscientist says processing digital information can rewire your circuits. But is it evolution?

  Brain Research Digital Native Technology Science Newsweek

• 23 Feb 09
  

  Michel Bauwens

  In 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

• 21 Dec 08
  

  Fernando S

  cambios cerebro changes digitalnative nativos_digitales Newsweek.com science brain research neurociencia

• 08 Dec 08
  

  Sunčana Kukolja Taradi

  digital natives

• 29 Oct 08
  

  Dorota Tylus

  digital_native

• 26 Oct 08
  

  Marissa Bracke

  science digital native digital immigrant

• 

  Ellen Ingraham

  brain digitalnative technology Digital_Native newsweek.com research

  • Reading This Will Change Your Brain

    
    

    
    

    A leading neuroscientist says processing digital information can rewire your
    circuits. But is it evolution?

  • 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.

  • 2 more annotations...
  • • 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."
• 20 Oct 08
  

  Kellie 80

  Interesting article about the impact of internet reading on the brain.

  brain research literacy

• 19 Oct 08
  

  Stephanie Affield
• 18 Oct 08
  

  Jennifer Jensen

  brain digitalnative research technology article

• 17 Oct 08
  

  Joan Vinall-Cox

  Using 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;->

  brain research Digital_Native

• 16 Oct 08
  

  Josie Fraser

  internet research brain digital_natives neuroscience cognitive literacy digital newsweek

• 

  Nancy Jones

  how use of technology /computers is actually changing the way the brain functions

  brain native research technology digital education newsweek

• 

  Adam Skinner
  • 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 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.

    • 

      Adam Skinner on 2008-10-16

      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!
• 

  Tammy Worcester

  brain

• 15 Oct 08
  

  David Hayward

  digital_native

  • 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."
• 

  ActionsFLE ---
• 

  Miguel Mendoza

  ICT

• 

  Josh Allen

  brain research technology

  • And 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

    • 

      Josh Allen on 2008-10-15

      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.
• 

  Susan Nugent

  digitalnative brain technology research

• 

  Carol Broos

  Interesting article

  digitalnative

• 

  John Evans

  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.

  brain technology research science

• 

  Elizabeth Koh

  research brain Internet digitalnative digital immigrant

• 

  Jeff Johnson

  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."

  DigitalNative Digital_Native technology brain change Newsweek Newsweek.com

• 

  Jeff Lebow

  digitalnative

  • Perhaps not since early man first discovered how to use a tool has the human brain been affected so quickly and so dramatically
  • . 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.
  • 1 more annotations...
  • • . "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
• 

  edtechtalk

  A leading neuroscientist says processing digital information can rewire your circuits. But is it evolution?

  digital_natives brain 20081019 davelink

• 14 Oct 08
  

  James OReilly

Public Stiky Notes

• 
  blast461 on 2009-04-09
  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.
• 
  Adam Skinner on 2008-10-16
  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!
• 
  Josh Allen on 2008-10-15
  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.

Page Comments

• 
  Elizabeth Koh on 2008-10-15
  Great article James! This article describes some of the advantages of Internet use. I have always believed in the social influence of IT and this article does give some evidence for that. Will be trying to get my hands on the research paper by Small.

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