Internet Search Stimulates Brain Activity In Elders

A team of US researchers has found that searching the Internet stimulates brain activity in the elderly and middle-aged and may help keep their minds sharp.The study was carried out by scientists at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and published in the latest edition of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
The UCLA scientists found that searching the web triggers key centers in the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning and may help stimulate and possibly improve brain function.The study's authors noted that their findings are the latest to suggests that complex acitvity that keeps the mind engaged,such as crossword puzzles,may help keep the brain healthy.The UCLA researchers said they tested 24 neurologically normal research volunteers between the ages of 55 and 76,half with experience searching the Internet and half with no experience.The study participants performed Web searches and book-reading tasks while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans,which record brain-circuitry changes.They all showed significant brain activity during book reading and web searching,but the internet-savvy group registered a twofold increase in brain activations during web use when compared with those with little internet experience.
The researchers also found that the web savvy group also registered greater activity in the frontal,temporal and cingulate areas of the brain,which control decision-making and complex reasoning.