Highlights
- •Little is known about the effects of personal electronic devices on the brain.
- •Text messaging appears to produce a unique waveform during video-EEG monitoring.
- •Independent cognitive–sensorimotor tasks did not produce similar waveforms.
- •A multi-afferent network and mesial frontal efferent are active during texting.
- •The TR may have implications for industry and health care.
Abstract
Objective
The objective of this study was to report the EEG features of text messaging using
smartphones.
Methods
One hundred twenty-nine patients were prospectively evaluated during video-EEG monitoring
(VEM) over 16 months. A reproducible texting rhythm (TR) present during active text messaging with
a smartphone was compared with passive and forced audio telephone use, thumb/finger
movements, cognitive testing/calculation, scanning eye movements, and speech/language
tasks in patients with and without epilepsy. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.
Results
Twenty-seven patients with a TR were identified from a cohort of 129 (93 female, mean
age: 36; range: 18–71) unselected VEM patients. Fifty-three out of 129 patients had
epileptic seizures (ES), 74/129 had nonepileptic seizures (NES), and 2/129 were dual-diagnosed.
A reproducible TR was present in 27/129 (20.9%) specific to text messaging (p < 0.0001) and present in 28% of patients with ES and 16% of patients with NES (p = NS). The TR was absent during independent tasks and audio cellular telephone use (p < 0.0001). Age, gender, epilepsy type, MRI results, and EEG lateralization in patients
with focal seizures were unrelated (p = NS).
Conclusions
Our results suggest that the TR on scalp EEG represents a novel technology-specific
neurophysiological alteration of brain networks. We propose that cortical processing
in the contemporary brain is uniquely activated by the use of PEDs.
Significance
These findings have practical implications that could impact industry and research
in nonverbal communication.
Abbreviations:
cEEG (continuous EEG), ES (epileptic seizures), NES (nonepileptic seizures), PEDs (personal electronic devices), TR (texting rhythm), VEM (video-EEG monitoring)Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: April 28, 2016
Accepted:
March 10,
2016
Received in revised form:
March 8,
2016
Received:
February 5,
2016
Footnotes
☆This manuscript was presented in part at the annual meeting of the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society Houston, Texas 2/7/2015.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
