Surfing the Web Stimulates Your Brain

Internet searches keep the mind active, study finds

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

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TUESDAY, Oct. 14 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that a little bit of Googling goes a long way toward keeping your mind fit.

This small study doesn't confirm that using an Internet search engine like Google is healthy for the brain. But some middle-aged and older subjects who spent time searching for information on the Internet did show signs of more brain activity than those who simply engaged in reading.

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"Just a simple, everyday computer task seems to be activating neural circuits," said study author Dr. Gary W. Small, director of the University of California, Los Angeles, Center on Aging. "It's possible that this is something that strengthens our brains as we do it."

Small and his colleagues launched the study to see how brain activity differs in people who are accustomed to using computers and those who are new to them. In the larger picture, Small said, he wants to understand how the brains of younger people might be wired differently from those of older people because of long-term exposure to computers.

The researchers decided to look at middle-aged and older people, because more of them aren't familiar with computers.

In the study, the researchers recruited 24 people aged 55 to 76. Half had extensive experience with computer searches, while the other half did not.

The researchers put the subjects in an MRI machine and tried to replicate the experience of Googling. While the subjects didn't have keyboards because the space inside a scanner is small, they could see a computer screen through goggles and use a keypad to move a cursor.

Researchers told the subjects to search for information about topics such as the health benefits of chocolate, the locations of nature walks and car-shopping tips. The scanner measured their brain activity as they searched.

The findings were expected to be published in a future issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. Small also discussed the study in his newly released book, "iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind."

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