According to experts, overuse of AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini could trigger a dementia crisis, as "cognitive offloading" damages the brain by reducing mental exercise crucial for neuroplasticity. A January study by Simone Rossi, a professor of neurology at the University of Siena in Italy, stated that brain functions are severely impacted when humans over-rely on AI, even for simple tasks like drafting an email, warning that “passive, uncritical reliance on AI may weaken that activity-dependent plasticity and erode human cognition.” Research scientist Nataliya Kosmyna at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that students using ChatGPT had "55 per cent lower brain activity" than a non-technology group and could not recall anything from their papers days later. A professor from Brown University noted that students scored above average on take-home midterms, but during in-person finals, many dropped, "three scored zeros, and only two were near their midterm score." Barbara Sahakian, a professor of clinical neuropsychology at Cambridge University, has predicted it is "highly likely" that widespread AI use will lead to more cases of dementia.