Can the Internet prevent cognitive decline?

The plasticity of our brain, which allows it to be modified both in its function and in its structure (Kolb and Whishaw, 1998), has been key in the great ability to adapt to the environment of the human being, allowing us to adapt to a multitude of environments and colonize all corners of the Land.

Among other functions, This malleability makes it possible that, in interaction with the environment, we can increase our cognitive reserve, in turn allowing for greater brain plasticity. The concept of cognitive reserve refers to the fact that, when performing tasks that require greater brain activity in a certain area, the ability to more effectively use alternative brain networks, which can serve as a self-protection mechanism against, for example, example, the cognitive impairment associated with age or with an injury caused by trauma (Rodríguez-Álvarez and Sánchez-Rodríguez, 2004).

What is the impact of Internet use on this use of cognitive resources?

Effect of computer use on cognitive performance

Patricia Tun and Margie Lachman (2010), from Brandeis University, conducted a study with a sample drawn from the MIDUS (Middle Age Development in the United States) program. This sample, made up of 2,671 participants, covered a range of adults between 32 and 84 years of age, of different socioeconomic status and different educational level.

First, the participants answered a series of questions that evaluated the frequency with which they used their computer. After this, through a battery of tests, different cognitive domains were measured such as episodic verbal memory, working memory capacity, executive function (verbal fluency), inductive reasoning and speed of speech. prosecution. In addition, another test was performed that measured reaction time and the speed with which participants alternated between two tasks, which required a substantial performance of central executive functions, which in turn play a critical role in the use of the computer.

Obtaining these data allowed the researchers to develop the hypothesis of whether there is an association between a higher frequency of computer use and a hypothetical better performance in executive functions, comparing between individuals who are similar both in basic intellectual abilities and in age, sex, education and health status.

The results

After analyzing the results, and controlling for demographic variables that could interfere with the results, a positive correlation was seen between frequency of computer use and cognitive performance across the entire age range. Furthermore, in individuals with the same cognitive ability, greater use of the computer was associated with better performance of executive functions in the test of alternation between two tasks. This last effect of better control of executive functions was more pronounced in individuals with lower intellectual capacities and with fewer educational advantages, which was a compensation for their situation.

In conclusion, the researchers argue that these results are consistent with those investigations in which it has been found that performing tasks that involve considerable mental activity can help maintain cognitive abilities at a good level throughout the life adulthood.

In light of these facts, the importance of the universalization of the use of computers and Internet access is raised. Starting from the hypothesis that doing a really stimulating mental activity is beneficial both for intellectual capacities and for reinforce the cognitive reserve, it can be inferred that promoting these technologies from the authorities would be an investment in the quality of life of the citizens.

What neuroscience says about it?

Building on the theories mentioned above about how the practice of mental activities can alter neural activity patterns, Small and his collaborators (2009), from the University of California, decided to investigate how the use of new technologies changes brain structure and function. For this, they had 24 subjects between 55 and 78 years old, who were assigned to two categories.

All subjects were similar in terms of demographics and, based on frequency and ability in the use of computers and the Internet, 12 were included in the group of Internet experts and 12 in that of newbies. The tasks carried out by both groups were two; on the one hand, they were asked to read a text in book format which would be evaluated later. On the other, they were asked to carry out a search on a specific topic, which would also be evaluated later, in a search engine. The topics they had to read or search for were the same in both conditions. While performing these tasks, the subjects had their brains scanned using the technique of functional magnetic resonance imaging, in order to see which areas were activated while carrying out the reading or the search.

During the text reading task, both Internet novices and experts showed significant left hemisphere activation, in the frontal, temporal and parietal regions (angular gyrus), as well as in the visual cortex, the hippocampus and in the cingulate cortex, that is, areas that are involved in the control of language and visual abilities. The difference was found, as predicted by the researchers' hypothesis, in activity during the information search task on the Internet.

The data obtained, explained

While in novices the same areas were activated as during text reading, in experts, in addition to these areas dedicated to reading, they were activated in a The frontal lobe, the right anterior temporal cortex, the posterior cingulate gyrus and the right and left hippocampus were significantly larger, showing a greater spatial extension of the brain activity. These areas in which there was greater activation in the experts control key mental processes to perform Internet searches correctly, such as complex reasoning and decision making decisions. These results can be explained by the fact that an Internet search does not only require reading text, but you have to constantly interact with the stimuli that are presented.

On the other hand, in research carried out with other types of mental tasks, after a high activation peak, brain activity tended to decrease as the subject gained skill in the task and this was becoming routine. This, however, does not seem to happen when using the Internet, as despite continued practice it is still a really stimulating task for the brain, measured in patterns of brain activity.

Based on his findings in this study, Small and his collaborators believe that although the brain's sensitivity to new technologies can cause addiction problems or attention deficit in people with particularly malleable brain (children and adolescents), for the general The use of these technologies will bring, above all, positive consequences for the quality of life of the majority.. They argue this optimism on the basis that, being a very mentally demanding task, these are designed to keep people cognitively awake, who will exercise their abilities and reap benefits psychological.

Harmful effects on brain function

But not all are good news. On the other side of the coin we find arguments like those of Nicholas Carr (author of the popular article Is Google Making Us Stupid?), which affirms that this reorganization of the brain wiring can lead us to develop great difficulties to carry out tasks that require sustained attention, such as, for example, reading long paragraphs of text or staying focused on the same task for a certain period of time weather.

In his book Superficial: What is the Internet doing with our minds?, referring to the approach proposed in Small's work, Carr (2010) highlights that "When it comes to neuronal activity, it is a mistake to assume that the more, the better. He reasons that, when it comes to processing information, the greater brain activity found in people accustomed to Using the Internet is not simply the exercise of our brains, but causes an overload on it.

This over-activation, which does not appear in reading books, is due to the continuous excitation of the brain areas associated with executive functions while we surf the Internet. Although it cannot be appreciated with the naked eye, the multiple stimuli that are presented to us subject our brain to a constant process of decision-making; For example, when we perceive a link, we must decide in a small fraction of seconds whether we will "click" on it or not.

Based on these premises, Nicholas Carr concludes that this modification of our brain function will to some extent sacrifice our information retention capacity, which was favored by the calm and attentive reading methods required by texts in paper. In contrast, thanks to the use of the Internet, we will become magnificent and fast detectors and processors of small pieces of information, since... Why store so much information in my prehistoric brain if a silicon memory can do it for me?

Bibliographic references

• Carr, N. (2010). The shallows: How the internet is changing the way we think, read and remember. New York, NY: W.W. Norton.
• Kolb, B., & Whishaw, I. (1998). Brain plasticity and behavior. Annual Review of Psychology, 49 (1), 43-64.
• Rodríguez-Álvarez, M. & Sánchez-Rodríguez, J.L. (2004). Cognitive reserve and dementia. Anales de psicología / Annals of Psychology, 20 (2), 175-186
• Tun, P. A., & Lachman, M. AND. (2010). The Association Between Computer Use and Cognition Across Adulthood: Use it so You Won’t Lose It? Psychology and Aging, 25 (3), 560-568.
• Small, G.W., Moody, T.D., Siddarth, P., & Bookheimer, S. Y. (2009). Your brain on Google: patterns of cerebral activation during internet searching. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 17 (2), 116-126.