Another Reason To Surf The Internet
I spend a lot more time than I care to admit surfing the web and most of the time these sessions start with logging on to Google. Now, a new study reported in The Times of India indicates that this simple activity may be keeping my brain young. The study, conducted by Gary Small, a professor of neuroscience and human behavior at the University of California at Los Angeles shows that this simple activity can slow the effects of dementia. He claims that Googling consistently stimulates the brain to slow or even reverse the declines that can end with dementia.
Teena Moody, coauthor of a report on the study said, “Searching online may be a simple form of brain exercise that might be employed to enhance cognition in older adults.”
Small’s study observed 24 men and women between ages 55 and 78 and half of these were regular users of the net. Using a medical procedure called fuctional magnetic resonance imaging after half hour session at the computer, the study noted activity in the regions of brain associated with language, reading, memory and vision.
A second scan after the computer sessions showed that brain activity had widened to include areas associated with working memory and decision making. The conclusion of the study was that Internet searching stimulates brain cells and neural pathways.
Teena Moody, a coauthor of the study report said, “Searching online may be a simple brain exercise that could be employed by older adults to enhance cognition.”
Some time ago I wrote about an interview I conducted with a researcher at Baycrest Geriatric Hospital here in Toronto in which the researcher talked about practical applications of some of the research they were doing in dementia and its precursor, Mild Cognitive Impairment. Her conclusion was that learning a second language could delay the onset of dementia by five years. At the time I remember thinking how wonderful this was that you could do something about dementia but at the same time I was overcome with the effort involved in learning another language. After reading The Times of India report, I am relieved that there is something I can do that is simpler and easier. To top it off it is something I already do more times a day than I care to admit.