TORONTO - Technology isn't just changing our lives, but it also means "change in our brains," says an expert on aging and the brain who has written a book entitled "iBrain."
Dr. Gary Small and his co-author Gigi Vorgan have focused their attention on two camps -- digital natives who grew up using computers and various gadgets like cellphones and iPods, and digital immigrants, who became users of such technology later on.
"In `iBrain,' I talk about the brain gap -- these young digital natives who are immersed in this technology from a young age and the digital immigrants, who we studied, who come to it more reluctantly," Small said from Los Angeles, where he is a professor at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.
"How do we bridge the brain gap between them to upgrade the technology skills of the older generation, and improve the face-to-face human contact skills of the younger generation?"
As part of his research, Small did functional MRI scans of 12 people aged 55 to 76 who were Internet savvy and compared them to 12 neophytes in the same age group.
When they were reading, the visual cortex areas of the brain involved in language and reading were activated and there was no difference between the two groups, he said.
But as the individuals conducted a Google search, the researchers did find a difference.
"People with previous experience showed more than a twofold greater extent of activation, particularly in the front parts of the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning," he said.
"So it suggested that prior experience helped people to activate those brain regions much more than those who were naive to the experience."
The research is outlined in the book and will be published in an upcoming issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
Small said that further study found that after a week of an hour-a-day Internet use, the naive group started to show the same kind of activity level in their brains as the Internet-savvy group.
"So it looks like we can teach an old brain new Internet tricks," he said.
Dr. Jack Diamond, scientific director of the Alzheimer Society of Canada, noted that other studies have shown that new exercises and training will activate the brain, but after some repetition, eventually the brain doesn't need to activate itself as much to be efficient in completing the same task.
"At first the activity goes up when you're learning all these things, and then it goes down," Diamond said.
But the findings of the study featured in "iBrain" are different, he noted, and people accustomed to searching the Internet had more brain areas lit up.
"The experienced people activated more regions of the brain, but they never went down in activity," he observed.
"Unlike other forms of mental training .... the brain is still used more as if you're continually getting this mental stimulation, whereas if you were doing it with other forms of input the brain gets more efficient and so doesn't have to drive itself so hard."
He said there are potential benefits if someone is using a computer, but there's no indication in the study that this sort of brain use would potentially help people in other areas of their life. Further research is needed, he said.
Small said many questions about the impact of computers on the brain and our lives are discussed in "iBrain."
"What happens to a developing teenage brain that's spending nearly nine hours a day with the technology?" he asked.
"These kids haven't fully developed their frontal lobes, their complex reasoning and judgment and decision-making skills. How will that natural stage of development be affected by the exposure to the technology? We don't know the answer to that."
The book contains quizzes to help readers assess their non-verbal communication skills, self-esteem, multi-tasking abilities, listening skills and whether they're addicted to technology.
"If we spend a lot of time repeating one kind of activity, and neglecting another, the neural circuitry is going to be different. And certainly the brain on Google study suggested that," he said.
Small said "iBrain" lays out the good and the bad about technology.
"I'm concerned, but I love it too. It's really enriched our lives in so many ways," he said.
"I've actually heard myself -- this kind of puts it in context -- I've actually heard myself saying to my son, and I'm laughing to myself, `Harry, get off that computer game and come downstairs and watch television with us."'
"It's the extent of the activity. Is all technology bad? Of course not. If a family is sitting down and watching an interesting show and having a conversation about it, that's fantastic. If a kid is isolated in his room in a virtual game for hours at a time and neglecting his homework, that's not good."
"Let's try to understand how it can help us, and how it might harm us, and take control of it so we can improve the quality of our life."
And the great divide will eventually disappear as everyone becomes a digital native, he said.
"The hope is that the digital natives do not neglect the importance of human contact and face-to-face skills."
