Internet searching

Can Googling delay the onset of dementia?

A new UCLA study, part of the growing research into the effects of technology on the brain, shows that searching the Internet may keep older brains agile -- it's like taking your brain for a walk.

It's too early to conclude that technology will help vanquish Alzheimer's disease, but "our study shows that when your brain is on Google, your neural circuitry changes extensively," said psychiatrist Gary Small, director of UCLA's Memory & Aging Research Center.

According to a new study from the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Behavior at UCLA, using the Internet and other types of communication technology can boost aging brains.

According to principal investigator Dr. Gary Small, a professor at Semel and holder of UCLA's Parlow-Solomon Chair on Aging, the research is the first to look at the impact of Internet search activity on brain function. The results of the research will be formally published in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.