Using the Internet to find information can stimulate key areas of the brain associated with memory and decision-making.
UCLA scientists found that for middle-aged and older adults with little Internet experience, benefits could be attained in just one week of Web surfing. In the future, the scientists hope to also study the impact of Internet use on younger adults.
Scientists studied adults ages 55 to 78, comparing people with very little prior Internet experience with participants who used the Internet daily. Participants performed Internet searches while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans, which track brain activity by measuring cerebral blood flow.
After …read more

If given the choice, would you rather win the lottery or receive a compliment?
Many of you are probably thinking, “Give me the cash!” However, according to the Japanese National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Okazaki, receiving a compliment activates the same area of your brain that’s activated when you receive cash. You may be just as thrilled – or more thrilled – to receive the compliments.
During this research, Dr. Norihiro Sadato and his team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at the brains of 19 “healthy” people during to experiments. The first involved the people playing a gambling …read more