Objective:
Previous research suggests that engaging in mentally stimulating tasks may improve
brain health and cognitive abilities. Using computer search engines to find information
on the Internet has become a frequent daily activity of people at any age, including
middle-aged and older adults. As a preliminary means of exploring the possible influence
of Internet experience on brain activation patterns, the authors performed functional
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain in older persons during search engine
use and explored whether prior search engine experience was associated with the pattern
of brain activation during Internet use.
Design:
Cross-sectional, exploratory observational study
Participants:
The authors studied 24 subjects (age, 55–76 years) who were neurologically normal,
of whom 12 had minimal Internet search engine experience (Net Naive group) and 12
had more extensive experience (Net Savvy group). The mean age and level of education
were similar in the two groups.
Measurements:
Patterns of brain activation during functional MRI scanning were determined while
subjects performed a novel Internet search task, or a control task of reading text
on a computer screen formatted to simulate the prototypic layout of a printed book,
where the content was matched in all respects, in comparison with a nontext control
task.
Results:
The text reading task activated brain regions controlling language, reading, memory,
and visual abilities, including left inferior frontal, temporal, posterior cingulate,
parietal, and occipital regions, and both the magnitude and the extent of brain activation
were similar in the Net Naive and Net Savvy groups. During the Internet search task,
the Net Naive group showed an activation pattern similar to that of their text reading
task, whereas the Net Savvy group demonstrated significant increases in signal intensity
in additional regions controlling decision making, complex reasoning, and vision,
including the frontal pole, anterior temporal region, anterior and posterior cingulate,
and hippocampus. Internet searching was associated with a more than twofold increase
in the extent of activation in the major regional clusters in the Net Savvy group
compared with the Net Naive group (21,782 versus 8,646 total activated voxels).
Conclusion:
Although the present findings must be interpreted cautiously in light of the exploratory
design of this study, they suggest that Internet searching may engage a greater extent
of neural circuitry not activated while reading text pages but only in people with
prior computer and Internet search experience. These observations suggest that in
middle-aged and older adults, prior experience with Internet searching may alter the
brain's responsiveness in neural circuits controlling decision making and complex
reasoning.
Key Words:
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
November 5,
2008
Received in revised form:
November 4,
2008
Received:
September 22,
2008
Footnotes
For generous support, the authors thank the Brain Mapping Medical Research Organization, the Pierson-Lovelace Foundation, the Ahmanson Foundation, the Tamkin Foundation, and the Parvin Foundation. The authors thank Elizabeth Pierce for assistance with fMRI scanning, and Arian Nasiri for assistance with data analysis.
Dr. Small reports having served as a consultant and/or having received lecture fees from Abbott, Brainstorming Co., Dakim, Eisai, Forest, Myriad Genetics, Novartis, Ortho-McNeil, Pfizer, Radica, and Siemens. Dr. Small also reports having received stock options from Dakim. Drs. Moody, Siddarth, and Bookheimer have no financial conflicts of interest.
Drs. Small and Moody contributed equally to this work.
Identification
Copyright
© 2009 American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
