1. Dragos Cirneci PhD Brain Research Institute
The Good, the bad and the ugly face of the digital era and how the brain cope with it
Dragos Cirneci PhD
Brain Research Institute

2. Neuromyths
= common misconceptions about brain mechanisms,
which are taken for granted in today’s society
we have 5 senses
“the primitive part of the brain”
the rational vs the emotional brain
the brain as a camcorder
new neurons doesn’t appear in adult brain
genes vs environment effect
mental problems as effect of childhood traumatic memories
The most important myth is that consciousness dictates our decisions and actions
Dragos Cirneci

3. Neuromyths
= common misconceptions about brain mechanisms, which are taken for granted in today’s society
1. we have 5 senses
Actualy we have at least 15 (discovered until now): sight (ophthalmoception), hearing (audioception), taste (gustaoception), smell (olfacoception), touch (tactioception) , feromonal sense, blue light sense, temperature (thermoception), kinesthetic sense (proprioception), sensors for lungs dilatation, pain (nociception), balance (equilibrioception), visceral sense (the perception of internal organs), chemical senses for detecting carbon dioxide concentration in the blood and sugar concentration.
Dragos Cirneci

4. Neuromyths
= common misconceptions about brain mechanisms, which are taken for granted in today’s society
2. “the primitive part of the brain”
Human brain is similar in its organization and functions with all the mammals brain. Only some parts are more evolved but these parts exist also in mammals brain.
Dragos Cirneci

5. Neuromyths = common misconceptions about brain mechanisms,
which are taken for granted in today’s society
3. the rational/the emotional brain
Emotions appear almost in all parts of the brain. Differences consist only in timing and type of context/action.
Dragos Cirneci

6. Neuromyths
= common misconceptions about brain mechanisms, which are taken for granted in today’s society
4. the brain as a camcorder
The memories are not “replayed from the tape” when they are remembered.
The information stored in the brain is actually reconstructed and updated every time when we remember.
Every time when we do this that memory could become a new memory incorporating new information related with it.
We can learn only things related with what we already know
Schacter & Addis, 2007
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7. Neuromyths
= common misconceptions about brain mechanisms, which are taken for granted in today’s society
5. new neurons doesn’t appear in adult brain
The brain generates new neurons during the entire life. These new neurons are essential for learning and coping with stress.
Dragos Cirneci

8. Neuromyths
= common misconceptions about brain mechanisms, which are taken for granted in today’s society
6. genes vs environment effect
The environment acts upon our brain by modifying the brain’s genes activity (some genes are turned on some are turned off). Learning and stress are actually examples of genetic effects– or more precisely “epigenetic effects”.
Robinson et al. 2008
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9. Neuromyths = common misconceptions about brain mechanisms,
which are taken for granted in today’s society
7. mental problems as effect of childhood traumatic memories
Adult mental problems are frequently rooted in childhood traumatic events but in most of the cases not the memory of the event is the cause of the problem. Traumatic events exert epigenetic effects upon the brain’s genes responsible for the circuits involved in adapting to novelty, fast changing environment, uncertainty and negative feedback.
Behavior
& emotions
Trauma
Brain’s genes
Brain
Circuits
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10. 8. Consciousness dictates our decisions and actions
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11. “The tiger and the monkey” metaphor describing the relationship between unconscious and conscious mind – after Dennis Overbye (2007)
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12. genes vs environment effect
The environment acts upon our brain by modifying the brain’s genes activity (some genes are turned on some are turned off). Learning and stress are actually examples of genetic effects– or more precisely “epigenetic effects”.
Any enduring activity impacts brain’s genes and hence its functions
Dragos Cirneci

13. Human species has evolved in the last 10
Human species has evolved in the last years 100 times more than before and in the last 5000 years 7% of the genes have changed !
29-30 Septembrie 2010

14. The digital era & the brain
TV, games, computers, mobile phones & internet impact the brain
Internet addiction is officially a mental disorder
Internet withdrawal on teenagers causes frustration, irritability and headache
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15. There are positive and negative effects upon the brain
The internet & the brain
There are positive and negative effects upon the brain
Positive effects:
Action-based games
Social media
Pornographic sites
Negative effects:
Internet Browsing
Media multitasking s
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16. The positive effects
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17. The positive effects
Action-based video-games activate brain’s reward pathway, increasing the secretion of dopamine
Effects on:
Focused attention
Working memory
Decision making
Problem solving
Reaction time
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18. The positive effects
In USA 51% of Facebook users are above 40 year age
The same 49% of YouTube users
…and 45% of Twitter users
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19. The positive effects
Constant using of social media networks (Facebook) increases oxytocin levels in the brain and is associated with thicker gray matter in mirror neurons network
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20. The mirror neurons
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21. The positive effects
Constant using of social media networks (Facebook) increases oxytocin levels in the brain
Dragos Cirneci

22. The positive effects
In the countries were pornography is encouraged studies have shown a decrease of rapes and sexual related criminal acts
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23. The negative effects
Internet browsing negatively impacts the brain. The effects are more visible in children and adolescents
Causes:
Superficial reading
Impulsivity
Low creativity
Low focused attention
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24. The negative effects
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25. The negative effects
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26. The negative effects
s are one of the most disrupting and stressing office tools
12% of the work time is spent reading personal s
One employee from a big company receives 400 s/week
70% of them are opened in less than 6 seconds
Reading decreases the performance on IQ test with 10 points
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27. The negative effects
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28. Brain’s connections in stress & depression
In depression the brain genes involved in plasticity & learning are turned off
Chronic stress negatively impact connectivity in the brain
Liston, McEwen & Casey, 2009
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29. How we can control the negative effects of media
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30. References
Deng, W. et al. (2009) – Adult-born hippocampal dentate granule cells undergoing maturation modulate learning and memory in the brain. The Journal of Neuroscience, 29 (43),
Liston, C., McEwen, B.S. and Casey, B.J. – Psychosocial stress reversibly disrupts prefrontal processing and attentional control. PNAS, 106 (3),
Overby, D. (2007) – Free will: Now you have it, now you don’t. The New York Times Science supplement, january 2,
Robinson, G.E., Fernald, R.D. and Clayton, D.F. (2008) – Genes and social behavior. Science, 322,
Schacter, D.L., Addis, D.R. and Buckner, R.L. (2007) – Remembering the past to imagine the future: the prospective brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 8,
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31. Thank you for your attention!
Dragos Cirneci Ph.D.
address: