It has long been known that awake subjects with eyes closed show a pattern of neural oscillation in the so-called alpha band (8-15 Hz) and this has been taken to be a fundamental cerebral rhythm that may be tied to attention, learning ability, and working memory.
Indian scholars performed EEG measurements on 402 subjects from 38 different settlements across India — ranging from remote hamlets to large cities. Participants in the study had incomes ranging from $300 a year to $150,000 a year, and they had wildly divergent levels of formal education and access to technology.
The existence of alpha-band activity was basically undetectable in people who lack wealth, education and knowledge of modern technology. In those populations that do exhibit the alpha dynamics, it appears that this is due to exposure to “modern experience” — that is, to education and technology (and, by association, wealth).
Alpha oscillation, which is not present in children, is an experience-dependent phenomenon.
Source: http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2017/05/19/528736359/has-modern-experience-changed-the-human-brain
Researchers recruited 46 men and 39 women, and used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans to examine the structure of their brain. Then, the researchers installed an app on the participants’ phones to record how long they spent on Facebook and how often they checked Facebook every day for five weeks.
The nucleus accumbens is a core region of the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system, which plays an important role in addiction. The researchers found that participants who opened the Facebook app more frequently and those who stayed on Facebook longer tended to have reduced gray matter volume in the nucleus accumbens.
Researchers conducted experiments with around 800 smartphone users to measure how well they could complete tasks with their phones nearby. Participants completed tests on a computer designed to measure the brain’s ability to hold and process data.
Before the test, participants either put their phone face down on the desk, in their pocket or bag, or in another room, on silent. People with their phones in another room did significantly better on the tests than those with phones on their desk, and slightly better than those with their phones in their pocket or bag.
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