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March 26, 2026Cognitive Neuroscience0 citations

Toward a cognitive neuroscience of technology

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GFGiovanni FedericoCICiro Rosario IlardiMBMaria A. Brandimonte

Key Points

  • The aim is to refine and test a hub-and-processors model of technological cognition, focusing on brain structures involved in technology use.
  • Integrated contributions from twelve commentaries
  • Revised synthesis of technological cognition framework
  • Analyzed anatomical definitions of parietal sites and frontal gyrus roles
  • Explored white-matter connectivity and motivational circuits
  • Established clearer distinctions between technical reasoning and manipulation knowledge areas
  • Identified the inferior frontal gyrus as a key node for planning and control
  • Expanded model implications to aging and neurorehabilitation
  • Highlighted connections between technology use and cognitive skill development over time

Abstract

In our target article, we proposed a hub-and-processors model of technological cognition. The twelve commentaries that followed offer a rare opportunity to refine, extend and test that framework against new perspectives. We integrate their contributions into a revised synthesis. The parietal sites now gain sharper anatomical definition: core substrates of technical reasoning can be more clearly distinguished from adjacent regions supporting manipulation knowledge and mental-to-digital goal-directed conceptual transformations. The inferior frontal gyrus, in turn, emerges as a dual-function node - one that routes information across hubs while simultaneously meeting the planning and control demands of tool-related behavior. Beyond cortical organization, the commentaries push the framework toward white-matter connectivity, reward and motivational circuits, as well as affordance-based theoretical accounts spanning the physical, digital and symbolic domains. They also broaden the model's translational scope to aging, neurodegeneration, digital inclusion, and neurorehabilitation, and open new lines of inquiry into temporal dynamics, expertise, and cognitive extension. The cumulative result is a strengthened case for a cognitive neuroscience of technology: a mechanistic, translational and lifespan-oriented program aimed at understanding how the brain supports technology use, acquires technological skills and is, over time, reshaped by sustained engagement with technological artifacts.

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Cite This Study

Federico et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69c4cc37fdc3bde4489177a5https://doi.org/10.1080/17588928.2026.2647745
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