Older People's Brain Cells Boosted by Internet Browsing

Recent research has concluded that browsing the internet is better for increasing brain power for middle aged and older adults than reading books. In fact, internet browsing is on a part with doing crosswords and other puzzles which have long been hailed as excellent activities for keeping the brain young and active and warding off potential dementia or Alzheimer's.

Scientists found that brain scans revealed that internet browsing actually expanded parts of the brain and that it stimulated the brain more powerfully than reading. What is more, the good effects of a browsing session continued long after it ended.

Garry Small, head of the research and professor of neuroscience and human behaviour at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) said: “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.”

The research team worked with 24 men and women aged between 55 and 78. They were divided into two groups: one group was composed of experienced internet users and the other of people new to the internet.

The experiment began with scanning people's brains while they wereactively browsing the internet. The technique used was functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI), which measures blood flow around the brain to determine which parts are the most and least active.

The respondents then went home where they were told to use the internet for specific tasks for an hour a day at least seven times over the next fortnight. After that a second brain scan was performed while they searched the internet.

The impacts on the brains of the respondents were quite remarkable even on the first scan which demonstrated positive effects from the browsing in those areas of the brain responsible for language, reading, memory and vision.

However, on the second scanning it was found that the activated areas had spread to the frontal gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus. These areas are significant in working memory and decision-making, leading the researchers to suggest that internet browsing activates brain cells and pathways.

UCLA researcher Teena Moody said: "Searching online may be a simple form of brain exercise that might be employed to enhance cognition in older adults.”

Ms Moody believes that internet searching challenges the brain more than reading because it involves doing several things at once, including retaining important information, assessing the information on screen and taking out the information they needed from text and graphics.

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