If you think reading a book stimulates your brain, think again. Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles found that searching the web is a better activity than reading as it triggers the centers of the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning. But before you go and start doing those Google and Yahoo searching, this study is good only to middle-aged and older adults.
The research team worked with volunteers with ages between 55 to 76, with half having experience with the web and the rest as Internet newbies. With functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machines scanning their noggins, participants were asked to search the web and read books.
Both activities showed significant brain activities but those who used the web users registered activities in the frontal, temporal, and cingulate areas of the brain, controlling decision-making and complex reasoning.
The study is set to see publication in the upcoming issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry .
Now I know what to do when I get to that age.
