uierekeep your neurons in tune, exercise them daily by searching for information on Google, Yahoo, MSN or Ask Jeeves. According to the first study of the effects of the Internet on the human mind carried out with the help of a scanner,the use of the Internet stimulates regions of the brain that control decision-making and problem solving, especially in adulthood.
Gary Small, a researcher at the University of California and co-author of the work, affirms that “computer technologies could have psychological effects and benefits for middle age and the elderly.” To demonstrate this, Small and his team worked with 24 volunteers, half without experience on the Internet and the rest with skills already developed for Internet search. Observing their brains they discovered that during navigation, those with experience generated21.782 voxels(the smallest unit of measure of brain activity recorded by a scanner), compared to8.646 voxelsof those with less experience. In addition, the group that was handled with ease on the Internet registered extra activity in thefrontal, temporal, and cingulate areas of the brain, which control decision making and complex reasoning.
“Our most surprising discovery was thatInternet search seems to involve an extension of the neural circuit that is not activated while reading a book, although only in those with previous experience “, explains Small. After all, he adds, compared to a simple reading, theabundance of alternatives on the internetit requires people to make decisions about which link to click to get information, an activity that involves multiple cognitive circuits.
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