While on the surface it is quite obvious that smartphones and technology as a whole have significantly infiltrated the day-to-day life of human beings, recent neurological studies have shown that the daily use of smartphones has penetrated the surface and may be responsible for changes in brain activity; research has found that the constant usage of touch screen smart phones affects the relationship between brain activity and finger sensitivity.

Researchers have been using electroencephalography, other wise known as EEG, to understand the affects of smartphones on brain activity. EEG is used in order to record the brain’s responses to mechanical touch on the thumb, index, and middle fingertips when using a touch screen smart phone.

EEG has been used to conduct comparative studies between individuals who use touch screen smart phones and individuals who use old mobile phones. Findings from these studies show that electrical activity in the brain of smartphone users was enhanced when all three fingertips were touched; and that the thumb-tip was particularly sensitive to day-to-day changes in its interactions.

These findings are gaining increased attention because they suggest that the receptive movements in the brain can actually reshape sensory processing from the hand; meaning, it is possible that cortical sensory processing in the brain is continuously shaped by personal technology.

Arko Gosho, one of the main researchers on this study, along with his colleagues are uncertain whether or not the reshaping of sensory processing in the brain caused by smart phones will be positive. Gosho along with his colleagues believe that the changes smart phones create between the brain and the hands may lead to motor dysfunctions and pain.