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Andrea Thompson
Senior Writer
LiveScience.comTue Oct 14, 12:17 PM ET
For middle-aged and older adults, searching the Internet could be a boost to
the brain, a new study suggests.
In recent years, several studies have showed a link between pursuing activities
that keep the mind engaged, such as crossword puzzles and memory games, and a
lowered risk of cognitive decline later in life.
As the brain ages, a number of structural and functional changes occur,
including atrophy, reductions in cell activity, and increases in deposits of
amyloid plaques and tau tangles (both associated with Alzheimer's disease), all
of which can affect cognitive function.
Keeping your brain active could drive some of these brain chemistry signals in
the opposite direction compared to where they go as dementia sets in, and now
it looks like surfing the Web could be another way to do that.
Increased activity
The new study, to be detailed in an upcoming issue of the journal American
Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, looked at the brain activity of 24
neurologically normal volunteers between the ages of 55 and 76 as they searched
the Internet. Half of the participants had experience surfing the Web, while
the others did not.
The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans to
record subtle brain-circuitry changes in the patients as they performed Web
searches and read book passages. fMRI scans track the intensity of cell
responses in the brain by measuring the level of blood flow through the brain.
All the study participants showed significant brain activity during the
book-reading task, specifically in the temporal, parietal and occipital lobes
of the brain, which are involved in controlling language, reading, memory and
visual abilities.
But Internet searches revealed differences between the two groups. While all
the participants showed the same activity as during the book-reading, the
Web-savvy group also registered activity in the frontal, temporal and cingulate
areas of the brain, whereas those new to the net did not. (These areas of the
brain control decision-making and complex reasoning.)
"Our most striking finding was that Internet searching appears to engage a
greater extent of neural circuitry that is not activated during reading - but
only in those with prior Internet experience," said study leader Gary Small of
the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.
What's going on?
Compared with reading, the wealth of choices on the Internet requires that
people make decisions about what to click on, which engages important cognitive
circuits in the brain.
"A simple, everyday task like searching the Web appears to enhance brain
circuitry in older adults, demonstrating that our brains are sensitive and can
continue to learn as we grow older," Small said. The work was funded by the
Parvin Foundation.
With more time and experience, the group that was new to the Web could
eventually show the same brain activation patterns as their more Internet-savvy
peers.
The researchers noted that more research must be done to address both the
positive and negative ways that new technologies might influence the aging
brain.