Canny Minds Blog

Web can help silver surfers slow dementia

Posted on 21. Oct, 2009 by Jenny in Articles, Brain Training, Memory

Internet use can boost the brain activity of the elderly, potentially slowing or even reversing the age-related declines that can end in dementia, researchers have found.

Using brain scans, they found the internet stimulated the mind more strongly than reading, and the effects continued long after an internet session had ended.

“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,” said Gary Small, professor of neuroscience and human behaviour at University.

“Searching online may be a simple form of brain exercise that might be employed to enhance cognition in older adults,” said Teena Moody, a UCLA researcher who co-wrote the report with Small.

Small and Moody’s argument is that brains are similar to muscles, in that the more they exercised, the healthier they become.

Written by Jonathan Leake, The Sunday Telegraph, 18th October 2009

To buy brain training products from Canny Minds, click here

Photo courtesy of Alain Bachellier