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Objective
:
Previous
research
suggests
that
engaging
in
mentally
stimulating
tasks
may
im
-
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prove
brain
health
and
cognitive
abilities
.
Using
computer
search
engines
to
find
information
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on
the
Internet
has
become
a
frequent
daily
activity
of
people
at
any
age
,
including
middle
-
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aged
and
older
adults
.
As
a
preliminary
means
of
exploring
the
possible
influence
of
Internet
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experience
on
brain
activation
patterns
,
the
authors
performed
functional
magnetic
resonance
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imaging
(
MRI
)
of
the
brain
in
older
persons
during
search
engine
use
and
explored
whether
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prior
search
engine
experience
was
associated
with
the
pattern
of
brain
activation
during
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Internet
use
.
Design
:
Cross
-
sectional
,
exploratory
observational
study
Participants
:
The
au
-
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thors
studied
24
subjects
(
age
,
55
–
76
years
)
who
were
neurologically
normal
,
of
whom
12
had
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minimal
Internet
search
engine
experience
(
Net
Naive
group
)
and
12
had
more
extensive
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experience
(
Net
Savvy
group
).
The
mean
age
and
level
of
education
were
similar
in
the
two
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groups
.
Measurements
:
Patterns
of
brain
activation
during
functional
MRI
scanning
were
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determined
while
subjects
performed
a
novel
Internet
search
task
,
or
a
control
task
of
reading
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text
on
a
computer
screen
formatted
to
simulate
the
prototypic
layout
of
a
printed
book
,
where
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the
content
was
matched
in
all
respects
,
in
comparison
with
a
nontext
control
task
.
Results
:
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The
text
reading
task
activated
brain
regions
controlling
language
,
reading
,
memory
,
and
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visual
abilities
,
including
left
inferior
frontal
,
temporal
,
posterior
cingulate
,
parietal
,
and
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occipital
regions
,
and
both
the
magnitude
and
the
extent
of
brain
activation
were
similar
in
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the
Net
Naive
and
Net
Savvy
groups
.
During
the
Internet
search
task
,
the
Net
Naive
group
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showed
an
activation
pattern
similar
to
that
of
their
text
reading
task
,
whereas
the
Net
Savvy
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group
demonstrated
significant
increases
in
signal
intensity
in
additional
regions
controlling
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decision
making
,
complex
reasoning
,
and
vision
,
including
the
frontal
pole
,
anterior
temporal
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region
,
anterior
and
posterior
cingulate
,
and
hippocampus
.
Internet
searching
was
associated
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with
a
more
than
twofold
increase
in
the
extent
of
activation
in
the
major
regional
clusters
in
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the
Net
Savvy
group
compared
with
the
Net
Naive
group
(
21
,
782
versus
8
,
646
total
activated
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voxels
).
Conclusion
:
Although
the
present
findings
must
be
interpreted
cautiously
in
light
of
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the
exploratory
design
of
this
study
,
they
suggest
that
Internet
searching
may
engage
a
greater
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extent
of
neural
circuitry
not
activated
while
reading
text
pages
but
only
in
people
with
prior
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computer
and
Internet
search
experience
.
These
observations
suggest
that
in
middle
-
aged
and
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>
older
adults
,
prior
experience
with
Internet
searching
may
alter
the
brain
’
s
responsiveness
in
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neural
circuits
controlling
decision
making
and
complex
reasoning
.(
Am
J
Geriatr
Psychiatry
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>
2009
;
17
:
116
–
126
)
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><
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/>
Key
Words
:
Brain
activation
,
functional
MRI
,
Internet
search
,
middle
-
age
and
older
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> <
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><
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>
adults
,
computer
experience
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>