Teach your grandmother how to use the internet
Posted by: Uticopa in internet and mental health on Oct 19, 2009
Don't take no for an answer. It's vital. Older people can boost their brain activity by performing simple online searches, according to a study that suggests the web could be used in the fight against mental decline.
Researchers in California have discovered that internet searches are more effective than reading at improving brain function. It seems that ‘Googling' is particularly beneficial because it involves a number of simultaneous mental processes, including memory - of the original search term - and the comprehension and analysis of the results. The researchers say that searching online is a simple form of brain exercise that can be employed to enhance cognition in older adults. As part of the study, 24 people between the ages of 55 and 78 were asked to carry out a series of online searches while having the flow of blood around their brains monitored by a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner. They underwent the same test a fortnight later, having followed a regime of online searching at home.
The results showed that the function improvements detected in the initial scans - in the parts of the brain controlling language, reading, memory and vision - had definitely moved to other areas of the brain responsible for memory and decision making.
The UCLA scientists believe that internet searching and other mental exercises slow dementia by stimulating cells and pathways within the brain. It is also true that increased levels of vitamin D, obtained from exposure to sun or eating oily fish, could also help keep our brains in top condition as we age. The findings suggest that retirement to warmer climes or taking dietary supplements could boost the brain's ability to stay active later in life.
In the meantime, the new ‘black box for the human body' called the SenseCam should be employed much more for today's dementia-sufferers. It works by images being played back-to-back at high speed to stimulate a patient's memory and help recreate the emotions attached to various experiences. Over time, the process helps boost the autobiographical memory in severely amnesic patients, who would usually forget a significant event within days or even hours. It's clear that there is some truly remarkable research being conducted into degenerative diseases of the brain. The SenseCam is one of them.
However, Britain is in danger of losing its world leading position in research into the disease as Germany, France and the USA now spend considerably more on research than we do in this country.
Britain needs to sit up and listen. Not spending more on mental health will be an unmitigated disaster for the next generation. Delaying the onset of dementia by five years would halve the cost of care. The public must change its views. Dementia is not a natural part of ageing - it's a disease of the brain that robs people of their lives.
But, unless the British government takes note of this ‘ticking demographic timebomb' by investing more of its health budget into developing such research, today's youngsters will have more than unemployment and the credit crunch to worry about in the future! Log on to what helps your brain - you know it makes sense.
