Although this may not be the longest article, I thought it was very interesting.
A study that was conducted at UCLA's Memory and Aging Research Center found that when searching the internet, your brain activity is boosted. The study was done on 24 people, with ages ranging from 55 to 76. All participants are neurologically normal as well. When the participants were asked to search the internet, there was definite increase in brain activity in the areas of the brain which control complex reasoning and decision making. There was also richer sensory experience and increased attention during these searches. If the subjects were reading book-like pages however, the brain activity was not increased. These findings were very interesting, unfortunately there is not enough research to show that this could help decrease chances of developing dementia.
Hopefully the increase in brain activity from these searches does help with something though, even if its just making sure we are still using our brains for something. If studies could show that it could help to ward-off dementia it would be an amazing step in our futures, especially because cases of Alzheimer's is expected to quadruple by 2050.
1 comment:
This is an interesting study, especially when you look at the ages of people used to do this study - all senior citizens.
"There was definite increase in brain activity in the areas of the brain which control complex reasoning..."
I think the reason they had to use "complex reasoning" is simply because old people don't understand computers. Because honestly, it doesn't make much sense that more of the brain is used browsing Google than reading a book.
If the experiment had the same results with teenagers then it would have more value. But I kind of see the point they are making, because dementia and Alzheimer's diseases affect the elderly. Either way, more research and experimentation probably needs to be conducted on the subject.
- Jordan Morsberger
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