Our Brain

The human brain ages and new technologies are now allowing scientists to better understand just what happens. With this aging, certain parts of the brain fail and these areas can now be pinpointed. Now attempts are being made to predict when an older person is in stages of decline and to find effective way to prevent this decline. Mental exercises like learning something new or pursuing intellectually energizing activities seem to raise the efficiency of cognitive processing and keep mental functions intact. Now, scientists are claiming that the process of surfing the Internet is the newest way to keep the mind strong by exercising it. The data shows that in decision making centers of the brain, there is a noticeable surge of activity in older adults while searching for information on the computer. With the use of MRI’s, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles who monitored brain activity in areas of the brain in over twenty healthy adults ages fifty-five to seventy-eight. Before the study began, half of these adults used the Internet daily compared to the other half who did little. The results of this study showed that the Internet users potentially improved brain function and cognition in these older adults.