Get Granny to Google: How the Internet Helps Older Brains
A group of UCLA researchers has determined that for middle-aged and older folks, using the Internet, particularly search, causes enhanced neural stimulation leading to better reasoning and decision-making.
At a recent presentation at the Neuroscience 2009 meeting in Chicago, the scientists stated, "The results suggest that searching online may be a simple form of brain exercise that might be employed to enhance cognition in older adults." Defying folk wisdom regarding old dogs and new tricks, the research was conducted on Internet users aged 55 to 78, about half of whom rarely used the Internet.
Previously, the same researchers proved that conducting searches online doubles brain activitation in older "digital natives" compared to older "digital immigrants."
One of the authors of the study, UCLA psych professor Dr. Gary Small, 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." In other words, it takes just a matter of days for older first-time Internet users to catch up to their more experienced counterparts in terms of brain activity.
Small also wrote iBrain, a book all about how technology use impacts brain functions.
Here's how the study was conducted: The researchers found 24 people aged 55 to 78 whose brains functioned normally. Half were daily Internet users, and half were noobs.
First, all the volunteers searched the web in a lab setting while the scientists took functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans of their brains, looking at changes in blood flow in the brain. Next, the test subjects were sent home and asked to search the Internet for an hour a day for seven days over the course of two weeks. Their searches were based on assigned topics that required them to search the web, explore websites, and read. Finally, the participants returned to the lab for more scans while they searched for more information on different topics.
What researchers found was that the Internet noobs' brains displayed activity in areas of the brain that govern language, reading, memory, and visual ability during both the "before" and "after" scans. However, their brains showed new and increased activity in the parts of the brain that control working memory and decision-making. The patterns were, in fact, similar to those found in the brains of the longtime daily Internet users.
The UCLA team said that these changes occurred because search requires users to store information in working memory and also determine relevant details from datasets of competing pictures and words.
The study was funded by the Parvin Foundation. Researchers included Susan Y. Bookheimer, professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the Semel Institute at UCLA; Himaja Gaddipati, a UCLA neuroscience student; and Jennifer Brace, a UCLA doctoral student in neuroscience.
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Hi Jolie,
Did you see this New England Cable News Report: Elder bloggers dispel myths about who's online?
http://mymomsblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/necn-report-elder-bloggers-dispel-myths.html
My mom is in it.
--Steve
Steve: Your mom is 500% adorable! I loved that video about Larry David. =)
I've gotten my parents and grandparents into the social web, too, if only so they can keep up with my manically paced goings-on. It was going just fine until my aunt discovered Farmville. >:(
Don't confuse searching the internet with actual research. They are not the same. Looking up stuff on the internet is just that, looking up stuff. Genuine research is something very few people know how to do.
This is good news for me. I am 46 years old and sometimes I feel I'm having trouble memorizing names and events which is not my problem before. I thought I needed a brain booster vitamins or something. But then, let me try surfing the net first. Thanks for this post.
This is a great read! I know that as I've had to learn new computer/networking skills, my brain has had to comprehend a whole variety of concepts that have stretched my imagination, and my brain cells!
At first I was reluctant to accept the "Internets" as a positive force in my life. Like so many changes, sometimes the old days and the old ways just seem better at first. I've grown more accustomed now to the new wave of technology and am trying to embrace it. I'm still not Twittering, but I now see the value in it for so many people. And, I will at times lament about the "good ol' days" of sitting down and chatting face-to-face with a person, sounding just like my Mom and Dad did when every house got a phone. :D
And, yes, Googling around the internet is NOT the same as research, but it does get a brain actively seeking information, and that can't be bad. Thanks again for the great read.
Our site, RetiredBrains.com, went up on the Net ins 2003 and we have seen a steady increase in traffic particularly during the past couple of years.
Interesting to note that almost 50% are repeat visitors who are coming back for more information. We have substantially increased the amount of content and starting Nov. 1st will have a completely redesigned site.
I am a senior in my mid 70's and founded RetiredBrains as an information site for older Americans since I was not able to easily locate what I was looking for myself.
I thought I would retire after almost 40 years in advertising but am now back to working the same hours I worked when I was in my 30's.