1. Bending minds how technology can change the way we think Dr Martin Westwell

2. What is a mind? You are born with almost all your 100 billion neurons The growth of connections between cells accounts for the growth of the brain after birth (150 trillion) These connections reflect experience 100 billion = 100,000,000,000150 trillion = 150,000,000,000,000

6. Newborn 3 months15 months24 months

7. physical connections conceptual connections Long term potentiation repetition emotion information knowledge

8. Impact of information technology

13. information knowledge

14. downloading essays from the internet "could not be controlled" "The availability of the internet is a powerful aid to learning but carries a new generation of risks of plagiarism." QCA chief executive, Ken Boston (November 2005) information knowledge

17. Online society # unique members > 100 million > 30 million > 25 million since July 2005 News Corporation $850 million Socialisation rather than information has emerged as the primary use of the internet

18. secondlife.com Online society 1.5 M 22 Nov 20065.8 M 24 Apr 20077.0 M 4 June 2007

19. secondlife.reuters.com

20. - more social - reinforce social links - extrovert - happy - withdrawn - break social ties - isolated - depressed Online society Technology Its not the technology that changes the way you think - its about you and what you do with it access to extremes of behaviour

21. Always on! Institute for Innovation & Information Productivity 18-21 age group Interruption YesNo Estimated Marginal Means 75 70 65 60 55 50 35-39 age group Interruption YesNo 45 40

22. X X X on the internet on the phone reading computer games doing homework going out with family watching TV seeing friends data from http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/children-go-online/ non-user occasional user weekly user daily user 33.2 36.2 38.2 40.6 Number of hours per week hours/week

23. Changing young minds 48 players (undergraduates) Group A and Group B $100 for best A and $100 for best B Pairs randomly chosen to play violent or non-violent game AB Sheese & Graziano 2005, Psychological Science

24. Changing young minds

25. AB COOPERATE (TRUST) EXPLOIT (TRUST) WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) COOPERATE (TRUST) Win x1.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 EXPLOIT (TRUST) Lose x0.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) Draw x1 Prisoners dilemma PLAYER A PLAYER B Changing young minds Sheese & Graziano 2005, Psychological Science

26. AB COOPERATE (TRUST) EXPLOIT (TRUST) WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) COOPERATE (TRUST) Win x1.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 EXPLOIT (TRUST) Lose x0.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) Draw x1 Prisoners dilemma PLAYER A PLAYER B Changing young minds Sheese & Graziano 2005, Psychological Science

27. AB COOPERATE (TRUST) EXPLOIT (TRUST) WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) COOPERATE (TRUST) Win x1.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 EXPLOIT (TRUST) Lose x0.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) Draw x1 Prisoners dilemma PLAYER A PLAYER B Changing young minds Sheese & Graziano 2005, Psychological Science

28. AB COOPERATE (TRUST) EXPLOIT (TRUST) WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) COOPERATE (TRUST) Win x1.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 EXPLOIT (TRUST) Lose x0.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) Draw x1 Prisoners dilemma PLAYER A PLAYER B Changing young minds Sheese & Graziano 2005, Psychological Science

29. AB COOPERATE (TRUST) EXPLOIT (TRUST) WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) COOPERATE (TRUST) Win x1.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 EXPLOIT (TRUST) Lose x0.5 Win x2 Lose x0.5 Draw x1 WITHDRAW (DISTRUST) Draw x1 Prisoners dilemma PLAYER A PLAYER B Changing young minds Sheese & Graziano 2005, Psychological Science

30. Developing skills Rosse et al 2007, Archives of Surgery Hybrid laparoscopy training system (video & real) 21 residents, 12 attending, 15 men, 18 women Past game play (>3hr/week) 37% fewer errors (P<0.02) 27% faster (P<0.03) High scoring gamers (top tertile) 47% fewer errors (P<0.001) 39% faster (P<0.001) Relative weight analysis 0.3%years of training 2% sex 2% cases performed 10% video game experience 31% video game skill

31. Attention

32. compare Medal of Honor to Tetris Games which demand high capacity for attention, develop attentional capacity (!) Attention Green & Bavelier 2003, Nature

33. visual attention distracted & confused Review: Lavie 2005, TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences bottom-up noticing top-down selecting perceptual load how much not how hard

34. visual attention distracted & confused Review: Lavie 2005, TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences perceptual load how much not how hard goal relevant stimuli spare capacity task with increased perceptual load attentional capacity increased attentional capacity

35. visual attention distracted & confused Review: Lavie 2005, TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences bottom-up noticing top-down selecting perceptual load how much not how hard executive control prioritising stimuli during task

37. very superior intellectually deficient 55 IQ score 7085100115130145160 Changing generations: The Flynn effect After Flynn 1984, 1987 Psychological Bulletin & Neisser 1997 American Scientist 19321997 2.25% 25% 120

38. 1930194019501960197019801990 100 105 110 115 120 125 year data were collected IQ scores relative to reference Changing generations: The Flynn effect After Flynn 1984, 1987 Psychological Bulletin & Neisser 1997 American Scientist IQ IQ tests are periodically re-standardised

39. Changing generations: The Flynn effect practice ? schooling ? nutrition ?

40. Changing generations: The Flynn effect sun is to day as moon is to ______

41. After Raven 1976 Standard Progressive Matrices & 2002 News Scientist

42. 1930194019501960197019801990 100 105 110 115 120 125 year data were collected IQ scores relative to reference Changing generations: The Flynn effect After Flynn 1984, 1987 Psychological Bulletin & Neisser 1997 American Scientist IQ Ravens visuo-spatial

44. Changing generations: The Flynn effect Steven Johnson Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter

45. Bending minds how technology can change the way we think

49. Huntingtons Disease Nurture can trump nature

50. van Dellen, Blakemore, Deacon, York & Hannan 2000, Nature Huntingtons Disease Nurture can trump nature

51. van Dellen, Blakemore, Deacon, York & Hannan 2000, Nature Huntingtons Disease Nurture can trump nature

52. Standard housing Enriched housing van Dellen, Blakemore, Deacon, York & Hannan 2000, Nature Percentage displaying profound symptoms Age (days) Non- Huntingtons Huntingtons Disease Nurture can trump nature

53. Isolated Enriched

54. Enriched environment? multi-sensory relevant emotional content interpersonal interaction - interdependent learning - (parental engagement) exercise nutrition / hydration blue light? VAK learning styles Brain Gym Water makes you smart WARNING! NEUROMYTHS!

55. .. plugged in networking in deep GM brain magnetic personality

56. Communication 3,900 people in UK 80,000 people worldwide cochlear implants

58. Communication

62. .. plugged in networking in deep GM brain magnetic personality

63. .. plugged in networking in deep GM brain magnetic personality

64. Neurobiofeedback

65. Scientific American Mind

66. Neuro bio-feedback

67. Thinking changes The world around us can change the way we think Technology can change the way we think internet- availabililty of information - internet society knowledge economy- conversion to knowledge - new productivity ?? augmented self- neurofeedback / devices - cognition enhancing drugs

68. Attention!

69. Hazards of technology SIMONS MOVIE Direct Line Mobile Phone Report 2002 (Transport Research Laboratory) *UK legal limit: 80mg/100ml *

70. Risk vs. benefit of technology Worlds first road traffic death 1896: coroner was reported to have said this must never happen again. 1.2 million people killed (2003) up to 50 million people injured (2003) predicted 65% increase over next 20 years

71. Bending minds how technology can change the way we think martin.westwell@pharm.ox.ac.uk www.futuremind.ox.ac.uk