60秒科学:Web Boosts Grandpa's Brain

Web Boosts Grandpa's Brain
In a study presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, researchers reported that older adults exposed to Web surfing for the first time showed increased brain activity in regions associated with language and working memory. Karen Hopkin reports

Searching the Internet can be a totally exhausting experience, as you bounce from one site to another to another, sometimes until you can’t remember what you were looking for in the first place. But according to scientists at U.C.L.A., all that virtual running around is actually good exercise—for your brain. Particularly if you’re older. Because Internet training can enhance neural¹ function.

The scientists worked with people between the ages of 55 and 78. At the start of the study, all the participants did some Web searching while the scientists monitored their brain activity by functional² magnetic resonance³ imaging. The subjects who’d had little exposure to the Internet before the study showed activity in brain regions involved in vision, language and reading.

Then everyone went home to do some surfing on their own—an hour a day for a total of a week. When the no-longer-naive subjects returned to the lab, their brain scans showed additional activity in regions associated with working memory and decision-making. The results were presented on October 19th at the 2009 meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Chicago. So for older adults, a little Web surfing could keep your brain on its toes
 

1 neural   

adj.神经的，神经系统的

参考例句：

• The neural network can preferably solve the non- linear problem.利用神经网络建模可以较好地解决非线性问题。
• The information transmission in neural system depends on neurotransmitters.信息传递的神经途径有赖于神经递质。

2 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

3 resonance   

n.洪亮；共鸣；共振

参考例句：

• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments.一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。
• The areas under the two resonance envelopes are unequal.两个共振峰下面的面积是不相等的。