For many people, it has become second nature: typing text messages, scrolling web pages, and checking email on a smartphone.<br /><br /> It could actually be changing the way the human brain and thumbs interact. That’s the key finding of researchers from the university of Zurich, in Switzerland.<br /><br /> The research compared the cortical brain activity in touchscreen smartphone users to that of people using old-fashioned cellphones with hard keypads.<br /><br /> Over 60 electrodes on each patient’s scalp recorded how their brain processed touch from their thumb, forefinger and middle finger.<br /><br /> The researchers found that individuals using touchscreen smartphones demonstrated more brain activity when their thumbs and fingertips were touched than those who used old-fashioned cell phones.<br /><br /> “Smartphone users have a brain that processes touch differently than people who don’t use touchscreen smartphones,” said Dr Arko Ghosh, who led the research at the University of Zurich.<br /><br /> “If you dig a bit deeper into the data,
