Smartphones Induced Behavioral and Brain Plasticity in Finger Tactile-Motor and Chinese Character Processing: a Study on Normal Population and Persons with Visual Impairment, Physical Disability and Learning Disability

The development of digital convergence and technology result in mobile-phone culture. Under the culture of mobile-phone, people’s behaviors have been changed and shaped. Persons who depend on Smartphone have to execute tactile-motor action frequently including simultaneous multi-ginger centrifugal and centripetal movements as well as finger writing action. Moreover, the way to process Chinese characters in this population is also changed. They do not need to spell or write the second character of Chinese words because the Smartphone’s computer program will show the second character automatically. Therefore, based on the aforementioned habit change, we predict Smartphone users demonstrate better capacity in simultaneous multi-finger movement and finger tactile-motor writing. However, their ability to process Chinese characters may become gradually weaker. In this study, we will invite general college students and the persons with visual impairment, learning disability and physical impairment to study the effects of Smartphone culture on their behaviors and brains while processing finger movement and Chinese characters. In the first year, we will compare the performances of finger movements and Chinese character processing between the people who use Smartphone frequently and who do not use Smartphone.We predict that the people who use Smartphone frequently will demonstrate better capacity in simultaneous multi-finger movement and finger tactile-motor writing. Moreover, since they have overlearned the movements and the automaticity of execute ginger action has been established, their brain will work more easily (using few cognitive resources) than the brain of the people who do not use Smartphone. However, their capacity to process Chinese characters may perform less efficiently than that of the people who do not use Smartphone. Therefore, the brain of the people who use Smartphone frequently may demonstrate inefficient during processing Chinese characters. In the second year, the same experiments used in the first year will be conducted in clients with visual impairment, learning disability and physical impairment for the purpose of substantiating their characteristics of finger movement and Chinese character processing from behavioral and brain aspects. Then the new experimental paradigms which are different from the experiments in the first year will be used as the digital training content for our general population and clients with disabilities. Some experiments will be selected by project 2, 3 and 4 for training their clients. In the third year, the training effect for the general population as well as the clients with visual impairment, learning disability and physical impairment will be studied. Learning how to use Smartphone and the experiments mentioned in the 2nd year will be the focus. Finally, we hope that the effect of Smartphone on behavioral and brain plasticity can be supported by our data.

Project ID:PF10301-1055
External Project ID:NSC101-2511-S182-006-MY3