Zoom, Other Video Calling Apps Could Hamper Human Brain Development; What's the Neuroscience Behind Digital Communication?

With the emergence of global health crisis in 2020, it is evident how the usage of videoconferencing services has skyrocketed. Netizens are greeted with a variety of options, including Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, FaceTime, among others.

Though these options have invaded various aspects of life and enhanced productivity and function, Neuroscience News reports that these technologies also impact the brain.

How Does Digital Communication Affect the Brain?

This was something that a global research team wanted to delve into. The team comprised Guillaume Dumas, principal investigator of the Precision Psychiatry and Social Physiology Lab at the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Centre, professor from the Department of Psychiatry and Addition at the Université de Montréal. On top of this, Dumas is also an associate member of the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, Mila, and manages the chair of the IVADO in Artificial Intelligence and Mental Health. Professor Dumas' research focuses on AI, social neuroscience, and systems biology.

The study by Dumas' team was included in the NeuroImage publication.

As part of the study, the researchers studied comparisons of brain electrical activity during remote and face-to-face interactions. They did so among 62 pairs of mothers and children, where the children had an age range of 10 to 14 years old.

The team utilized a method known as "hyperscanning," which enables the recording of brain activity among many subjects. By doing so, they discovered that videoconferencing interaction weakened the brain synchrony between the mother and child.

Inter-Brain Synchrony

The Université de Montréal reports that many years ago, Dumas was able to show the human brain's tendency to spontaneously synchronize when social interaction takes place. He notes how the synchrony that is inter-brain is linked to social cognition development. This brain resonance helps children distinguish themselves from others and learn about social connections.

The study discovered that interactions that were face-to-face drew out nine inter-brain links between the temporal and frontal regions of the brain. Remote interactions, on the other hand, only led to one significant link.

Dumas notes that if this synchrony gets disrupted, there may be significant consequences pertaining to the cognitive development of the child. These especially involve the mechanisms that facilitate social connection. Dumas also notes how such consequences are lifelong.

Humans Are Social, Relational Beings

Given these findings, Dumas thinks that it is necessary to conduct further study to know more about how social technology affects the maturation and development of the brain, especially among younger individuals.

Neuroscience News notes how Dumas particularly questions whether online education is appropriate for adolescents. Dumas expresses that he thinks about education digitization and how the pandemic affects social cognition development among the young. He notes how this question is important but difficult to answer since the full effects can only be discovered after 10, 15, or 20 years have passed.

Dumas also notes how these findings shed light on what is known as Zoom fatigue. Because remote interactions lead to less inter-brain synchrony, it is quite understandable that individuals may need to shell out more energy and effort to connect and interact.

He also notes that the study verifies the importance of social relationships and that inter-brain synchrony is connected to brain development.

Check out more news and information on the Brain in Science Times.