Oct 16, 2008
Surfing The Web Stimulates Older Brains
Web-Savvy Baby Boomers, Seniors Plumb More Regions of the Brain During Internet Searches
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(CBS/AP)
The study, which looked at brain activity during web searches, resulted in a fascinating finding: Middle-aged to older adults who know their way around the Internet had more stimulation of decision-making and complex reasoning areas of the brain than peers who were new to web surfing.
What's more, reading didn't stimulate the same number of brain areas as Internet searching.
The UCLA study, funded by the Parvin Foundation, involved 24 adults from 55 to 78 years old, half of whom had experience searching the web from once a day to many times a day. The other half reported using the Internet never to once a month. The participants didn't have any neurological conditions such as dementia and were similar in age and educational level.
In order to measure brain activity during reading and web searches, the 24 adults underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans while separately performing both activities, either a new Internet search or reading text on a computer screen that was formatted to look like a book.
While reading stimulated the same areas of the brain in both groups, those who regularly searched the Internet showed twice the increase in brain activity when performing the new Internet search than their counterparts, especially in the areas of the brain that control decision making and complex reasoning.
The study results are encouraging, that emerging computerized technologies may have physiological effects and potential benefits for middle-aged and older adults, says principal investigator Gary Small, a professor at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA and director of the campus' Memory and Aging Research Center.
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.
Small concludes that the more experience the subject had in searching, the greater it engaged a person's brain.
Although Internet use has increased among all age groups in the U.S., far fewer boomers and seniors search the Web daily, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. The report, released in August, says 40% of people 50 to 64 years old and 27% of adults 65 and older are getting information online every day, compared to about 55% of those 18 to 49. The study surveyed 2,251 adults 18 and older from April 8 to May 11 of this year.
Small acknowledges that the less web-savvy people might not have grasped the strategies for accessing information online, but with more time may demonstrate the same brain activation patterns as the more experienced group.
The study will be published in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
By Julie Edgar
Reviewed by Louise Chang
©2005-2008 WebMD, LLC. All rights reserved.
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- I didnt want to know about the computers until I was made to when transferred at work, that did me a favour, then Mum died and I used some money for my first `puter, as email to my U.S. cousin is cheaper than air mail.. and what a revelation.. I`m 57.. going white haired.. and the net DOES take the place of books.. and magazines.. and news.. so YES.. I wouldnt want to be without it now, I do nearly everything on it, but I`ve had to evolve as anyone else. I just WISH I didnt read so many stupid abusive comments on some sites.
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- McCain needs to....
Posted by Kila_MaDDoGG
Didn''t you get your welfare check? Running out of crack? - Reply to this comment
- We already know that. Why do we need researchers at UCLA to tell us what we already know. What we need is less medical intrusion in our lives. When my generation dies off, will there be any common sense left in this country? I am against medical tyranny and respect Dr. Kevorkian above all others. visit me at my site.
http://www.carolloving.com/ - Reply to this comment
- Stimulates older brains? Not if they spend any time on the CBS message boards.
Posted by azure11 at 07:21 PM : Oct 16, 2008
Not to mention too much of it makes your set-down numb. - Reply to this comment
- Yea, It''s good for your brain like a glass of wine a day is good for your digestion.
The thing is, all things in moderation, that is the key here. Hrs on end will leave you with back pain and rotted brain cells from all that porn... - Reply to this comment
- "Man did i need hear that"
Posted by tannerbird at 02:28 PM : Oct 16, 2008
Hahaha. You aren''t the only one that is glad to hear it. - Reply to this comment
- This just might stop the wife from nagging.
On second thought, I''m just not that lucky... - Reply to this comment
- Man did i need hear that
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