 So I tweeted yesterday about this New York Times op-ed piece reviewing brain research which suggests smartphone users' response to their beloved devices is less like "addiction" and more like "love." Martin Lindstrom, author of Brandwashed, makes this observation largely due to 16 subjects' fMRI-evident insular cortex response. Then today I find this response at Wired, by writer David Dobbs, who links to this blog posting describing the NY Times piece as "pure crap" and a Univerisity of Colorado at Boulder psychology and neuroscience postdoctoral fellow who suggests that Lindstrom had "blown it big time." Wow. Who says brain science is boring? This is practically a melee. But if you read only one critical response to the iPhone love piece, read this one at the always-great Neurocritic blog. Tal Yarkoni, the U. of Colorado postdoc referenced above, notes that in fact the insular cortex appears to be active in up to one-third of all fMRI studies. And it appears to be associated with lots of different actions and reactions....including disgust, according to this study. If you've read this far then you probably, like me, really love brain science (maybe my insular cortex is active right now!). And being savvy consumers of the various claims made in the name of brain science requires patient reading and willingness to see even really cool claims be questioned and roundly criticized. |
