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Talk about timing... The very day we started learning about how the brain and memory work, this is one of the lead stories in the American edition of Newsweek magazine! You can read the whole article, Reading This Will Change Your Brain: A leading neuroscientist says processing digital information can rewire your circuits. But is it evolution?, by clicking here.
"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."
Particularly fascinating are the findings about the brains of youth who have never known life without technology, who have always communicated digitally. According to their research, you high school students have "superior cognitive abilities to make snap decisions and juggle multiple sources of sensory input." It's not all good news for you, however... Your parents, however, "are better at reading facial expressions." Not having grown up using technology, they had to learn how to use it after having developed more interpersonal communicative skills.
Interesting stuff, huh? For those of you considering a yearly project topic focusing on technology's effect on culture, this could be a very helpful article.
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