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Doing Internet Searches Boosts Older Brains

Posted by kdawson on from the you-are-what-you-search dept.

Hugh Pickens writes "Medical News Daily reports that researchers have found signs of enhanced neural stimulation in parts of the brain that control decision-making and reasoning when they scanned the brains of middle-aged and older first-time Internet users after only seven days of performing Internet searches. 'We found that for older people with minimal experience, performing Internet searches for even a relatively short period of time can change brain activity patterns and enhance function,' says Dr Gary Small, a professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. At the start of the study, the participants performed Internet searches while the researchers took fMRI scans of their brains to track changes in blood flow in the brain and record subtle changes in neural activity. After practicing searching the Internet for 7 days over 2 weeks at home, the brains of the Internet novices showed activity in the same regions as before, but this time there was new activity in the middle frontal gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus, the parts of the brain that are important for working memory and decision-making. 'You can exercise your mind by using the Internet, but it depends on how it's used,' adds Small. 'If you get hooked on gambling or eBay shopping, that may not be positive.'"

4 of 65 comments (clear)

  1. No control condition? by beatsme · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Without control, it's hard to say whether or not this is just a case of the Hawthorne effect. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawthorne_effect

  2. It doesn't seem so hard by Thanshin · · Score: 2, Insightful

    1 - Click browser's search box.
    2 - Type 'P', 'O', 'R', 'N'.
    3 - Press 'Enter'.

    I can't imagine a scenario where a search stimulates brain acti... Ohhh, ok. I get it now.

    1. Re:It doesn't seem so hard by digitig · · Score: 2, Insightful

      1 - Click browser's search box. 2 - Type 'P', 'O', 'R', 'N'. 3 - Press 'Enter'.

      I can't imagine a scenario where a search stimulates brain acti... Ohhh, ok. I get it now.

      It stimulates "parts of the brain that control decision-making and reasoning" when they try to work out how to pay off their credit card bill and how to explain their browser history to their wives.

      --
      Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
  3. Re:Doing searches by bkr1_2k · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I wish my mom and sister would learn this "simple" technique. I always get the call... My first question is always, "did you google it? No? Why don't you try? Hey, look, first response to is an answer to your question. See, that only took 30 seconds and you've been hemming and hawing for the last 2 hours and finally decided to call me."

    --
    "Growing old is inevitable; growing up is optional."