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Older People Get Brain Boost From Internet
Study Shows Using the Internet Activates Decision-Making Centers of the Brain
By Jennifer Warner, WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Oct. 19, 2009 -- Surfing the Internet may be the latest way to teach an old dog new tricks.

A study shows older adults who learn to use the Internet to search for information experience a surge of activity in key decision-making and reasoning centers of the brain.

"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," says researcher Gary Small, MD, a professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, in a news release.

As people get older, a variety of both structural and functional changes can occur in the brain that can reduce activity and impair function. Previous studies have shown that mental stimulation through brain training activities can increase the efficiency of cognitive processing and slow this decline in brain function.

Researchers say the results suggest that Internet training and searching online may qualify as a simple brain training activity to enhance cognitive function in older adults. (Read more at WebMD here)