The study found that volunteers who used paper memory had more activity in the part of their brain that controls language, imagination, memory and spatial orientation.
A study of a group of volunteers found that writing on paper helped brain activity. The researchers said the uniqueness, complexity, spatial sense and tactile information of writing on paper likely would help improve memory.
The test was conducted among 48 volunteers, aged 18-29, divided into three groups according to memory, preference for digital or analog (paper) methods, and gender, age and other aspects. During the test, they were asked to read a fictional story in which two students were discussing schedules, including 14 class times, assignment submission deadlines, and appointment times.
Each of the three groups of volunteers used paper and pencil, a tablet or a large smartphone to memorize the content of the simulated conversation discussion for an unlimited amount of Time, but they were asked to memorize it as they normally would, without additional review.
One hour after the memory step was completed (with deliberate distractions to distract them), the volunteers were asked to answer a series of questions to test their memory, and their brain blood flow was measured using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) while they were answering the questions.
It was found that the time taken to answer the questions differed significantly between the three groups, with the paper and pencil group taking 11 minutes to complete their answers, the tablet group 14 minutes, and the smartphone group taking the most time, about 16 minutes. And it was also found that if a volunteer was used to taking notes with pen and paper in general, and they used a digital device during the test, the time spent was the same as that spent by someone who normally uses a digital device to remember.
So the researchers believe that the difference in speed is related to the way people remember or the related coding activity in the brain, not just because of what tools they are used to using.
And based on the MRI results, the researchers found that there was also a significant difference in brain activity among the three groups, with volunteers who used paper memory having more activity in the areas of their brains that control language, imagination, memory and spatial orientation (the latter two located in the hippocampus region of the brain). Thus, the researchers say, the activity in the hippocampus region of the brain means that paper materials contain richer spatial details that can help people recall.
Professor Kuniyoshi L. Sakai, a neuroscientist at the University of Tokyo and author of the study, said that paper contains more unique information than electronic documents, which helps enhance people’s memory. This information includes richer spatial information, such as material characteristics, irregular brush strokes and uneven shapes (such as folded corners). Digital paper, on the other hand, is uniform, has no fixed position when scrolling, and its top content disappears when the application is closed.
However, the researchers said that if on the e-book, people use to add underlines, draw arrows, handwritten color notes in the margins of the page, add virtual sticky notes or other unique ways, can also help people’s memory.
The study also found it interesting that the volunteers who took part in the test used paper to take notes about 25 percent faster than using a tablet or smartphone, contrary to popular Perception.
The article has been published in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience.
Recent Comments