Middle-aged and elderly people could stave off the mental aging process through the use of search engines, according to a new scientific study. The activity may even be more beneficial to brain power than reading a book, though only among experienced web users.

The UCLA study involved 24 people aged between 55 and 76, split evenly between experienced and non-experienced internet users. Each participant underwent a brain scan while reading, and then one while searching for information online.

Because scientists know certain physical areas of the brain are responsible for particular types of thought, the researchers were able to tell that both tasks involved memory, visual recognition and language skills. However, among the experienced web users, the internet searching also stimulated the parts of the brain that deal with complex reasoning and decision making.

In the picture above (which we’ve created by overlaying two photographs from the researchers), the blue areas show the brain activity among non-experienced web users while using the internet, while the red areas mark the brain use among those familiar with the internet.

The researchers suspect that this is because internet users have to make constant choices, such as which result to click on, rather than the purely linear skill of reading. It also helps explain why newcomers to the internet often struggle at first – they haven’t yet got used to using their brains in the different way required to find and process online information.

Gary Small, the neuroscience professor running the study, told the Los Angeles Times that internet use can help the brain continue to function in old age by taxing it in a different way:

A simple, everyday task like searching the Web appears to enhance brain circuitry in older adults, demonstrating that our brains are sensitive and can continue to learn as we grow older.

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Entry was posted on Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 at 4:15 pm under Internet, Science and technology.

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