ddelmonte writes “This Washington Post article examines a test conducted at UCLA. The test had two groups, young people who used the World wide web, and older people who had never been on the internet. Both groups were asked to do World wide web searches and book reading tasks while their brain activity was monitored. ‘We found that in reading the book task, the visual cortex — the part of the brain that controls reading and language — was activated,’ Small said. ‘In doing the World wide web search task, there was much greater activity, but only in the Internet-savvy group.’ He stated it appears that people who are familiar with the World wide web can engage in a much deeper level of brain activity. ‘There is something about World wide web searching where we have the ability to gauge it to a level that we find challenging,’ Small said. In the aging brain, atrophy and reduced cell activity can take a toll on cognitive function. Activities that keep the brain engaged can preserve brain health and thinking capability. Small thinks learning to do Internet searches may be one of those activities.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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