MIT Just Completed the First Brain Scan Study of ChatGPT Users and the Results Are Terrifying
Extremely concerning!
This article originally appeared on Focal Points and was republished with permission.
Guest post by Nicolas Hulscher, MPH
ChatGPT impairs memory and persistently suppresses brain activity—raising urgent concerns about cognitive offloading and long-term neural harm.
A new MIT study titled, Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task, has found that using ChatGPT to help write essays leads to long-term cognitive harm—measurable through EEG brain scans.
Students who repeatedly relied on ChatGPT showed weakened neural connectivity, impaired memory recall, and diminished sense of ownership over their own writing.
While the AI-generated content often scored well, the brains behind it were shutting down.
The findings are clear: Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Grok don’t just help students write—they train the brain to disengage. Here’s what the researchers found:
Brain Connectivity Declines with AI Use
EEG scans revealed a systematic scaling down of neural connectivity in the brain with increasing reliance on external tools:
Brain-only group: strongest, most widespread connectivity.
Search Engine group: intermediate.
LLM group: weakest connectivity across alpha, beta, delta, and theta bands.
LLM use resulted in under-engagement of critical attention and visual processing networks, especially in Session 4 when participants tried to write without AI.
LLM Users Forget What They Just Wrote
In post-task interviews:
83.3% of LLM users were unable to quote even one sentence from the essay they had just written.
In contrast, 88.9% of Search and Brain-only users could quote accurately.
0% of LLM users could produce a correct quote, while most Brain-only and Search users could.
AI Use Disrupts Memory and Learning Pathways
Participants previously using LLMs (then writing without it in Session 4) showed:
Weaker memory recall
Lower alpha and beta neural engagement
Signs of cognitive adaptation toward passivity and “efficiency” at the cost of effortful learning.
LLM Users Felt Detached From Their Work
When asked about authorship:
LLM users gave responses like “50/50” or “70% mine.”
Some claimed no ownership at all.
Brain-only group participants almost universally reported full ownership.
Switching from LLM to Brain Use Doesn’t Fully Restore Function
Session 4: LLM-to-Brain participants showed lingering cognitive deficiency, failing to return to their original (Session 1) brain activity patterns.
Their neural activity remained below baseline, even after AI use was stopped.
Search Engine Users Showed Healthier Brain Engagement
Search users maintained stronger executive function, memory activation, and quote recall.
EEG data showed more robust occipital and parietal activation supporting visual processing and cognitive effort.
AI Dependency Leads to "Cognitive Offloading"
Researchers noted a trend toward neural efficiency adaptation: the brain essentially “lets go” of the effort required for synthesis and memory.
This adaptation led to passivity, minimal editing, and low integration of concepts.
Short-Term Gains, Long-Term Cognitive Debt
Despite receiving decent scores from judges, the LLM group's writing:
Lacked strategic integration.
Used fewer diverse structures.
Was shorter and more robotic.
Over time, the group showed a consistent decline in engagement, performance, and self-reported satisfaction.
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Based on this study, as more of the global population begins to rely on artificial intelligence to complete complex tasks, our cognitive abilities and creative capacities appear poised to take a nosedive into oblivion.
One thing is clear: if you currently use AI, take regular breaks—and give your own mind the chance to do the work. Otherwise, you may face severe cognitive harm and dependence.
The machines aren’t just taking over our work—they’re taking over our minds.
Epidemiologist and Foundation Administrator, McCullough Foundation
www.mcculloughfnd.org
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