Web surfing could keep dementia at bay

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Isaacmao bookmarked on 2008-10-15 brain Learning Web

For middle-aged and older adults, searching the Internet could be a boost to the brain, a new study suggests.
The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging 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
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.)
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

This link has been bookmarked by 1 people . It was first bookmarked on 15 Oct 2008, by isaac Mao.