Is Your Phone Rewiring Your Brain?

The paper, “Wired to be Connected, Links between Mobile Technology Engagement, Intertemporal Preference and Frontostriatal White Matter Connectivity,” co-led by IfM Post-Doc Dr. William Hampton, has been published the journal Social Cognitive Affective Neuroscience, an Oxford University Press journal. The study investigates the relationship between mobile phone technology use, impulsivity, and brain connectivity in young adults. Dr. Hampton’s study used a new neuroimaging technique called “diffusion imaging” that revealed that young adults who are highly engaged with their mobile phones have distinctive brain connectivity. The research team also found that individuals highly engaged with their mobiles tended to be more impulsive and more sensitive to rewards.

Dr. Hampton is currently working on several technology-related research projects that examine the effect of mobile technology interaction on consumer behavior.