MARI K. SWINGLE, PhD
Dr. Swingle’s research focuses on the relationship between digital technology and a variety of disorders including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), written output disorder, dyslexia, anxiety, depression, oppositional defiant disorder, insomnia and anger management. In her 15 years of clinical practice, Dr. Swingle noticed a connection between excessive use of digital technologies and mental illness and learning disabilities in children.
For her dissertation, Dr. Swingle examined 19 site quantitative EEGs of adults with Internet Addiction and, when compared to a normative data base, found a deregulation pattern rather than a cluster pattern. Data collected on qualitative differences in Internet usage further suggested that the severity of neurological deregulation was associated with the perceived degree of immersion with the technology.
While examining the raw EEG signals, Dr. Swingle also noticed a distinct deregulation in the Alpha bandwidth. Further exploration revealed a correlation between Alpha bandwidth and the development and maintenance of specific forms of ADHD, emotional deregulation and the “hijacking of creativity” and innovative thinking in clinical populations. Dr. Swingle’s research also examines the connection between Internet technology and the increase in hyperarousal and anxiety in the general population, as well as the usage patterns that are associated with positive integration of technology – individuals who are are not negatively affected versus those who are.
Dr. Swingle is a certified neurotherapist with the Swingle Clinic in Vancouver, British Columbia. She earned her doctorate degree in 2013 in clinical psychology from Fielding Graduate University, Santa Barbara, Calif.
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