Texting activates brain waves that have not been observed before. In 20% of people, this gesture triggers a rhythm that would be linked to verbal stimulation.
Make news, make an appointment, exchange jokes. The uses of SMS are numerous and more and more frequent. But this practice is not without impact on the brain, explains the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota, United States). In a study published in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior, it shows a unique brain wave variation.
20% reactions
What is the impact of texting on the brain? To answer this question, the team recruited 129 patients admitted to the Mayo Clinic for seizures or non-epilepsy. These volunteers were followed for 16 months and performed electroencephalograms at regular intervals. During the exam, they were asked several tasks: texting, typing, making a call or completing attention and cognitive function tests.
In 20% of the cases, the researchers discovered a hitherto unknown motive. These brain waves activate when sending an SMS. “We believe that this new rhythm is an objective measure of the brain’s ability to analyze non-verbal information when using electronic devices, and that it is strongly connected to a widely distributed network in the brain, enhanced by the ‘attention or emotion,’ analyzes Dr William Tatum, who led the research.
22-year-old patient texting with his right hand (Source : Elsevier)
Incompatible with driving
The explanation for this phenomenon lies in the brain’s reaction to an activity such as “texting”. The unique rhythm they observed is undoubtedly caused by the combination of motor and verbal stimulation. A hypothesis that can be confirmed by another observation: iPad users have the same variation in brain waves. It would therefore be the mobile devices, held in the hand and with a small screen that would bear the responsibility.
For William Tatum, these results also explain the impossibility of combining driving and sending SMS. “Doing it changes the brain waves,” he sums up. The activated structures are therefore no longer as capable of piloting a vehicle.
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