Internet Searches Stimulate Brain
For those who have parents or guardians who nag at you to get off the computer and ask you to read books instead - you can now tell them that the ecchi stuff you are looking for actually stimulates your brain more than reading books according to this report.
Searching the Internet may stimulate and help improve brain function more than reading a book.
Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles have found that searching the web triggers centers in the brain that control decision-making and complex reasoning in middle-aged and older adults. But while web browsing may spark more neurons than mere book-reading, the study says, this only occurs in those with previous Internet experience.
The study, which the researchers claim is the first of its kind, is currently in press at the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and will appear in an upcoming issue.
As the brain ages, it's prone to atrophy and reduced cell activity. Doing a bit of "hard thinking" is thought to help keep the mind in shape. Brain-improving mental exercises typically take the form of doing crossword puzzles, learning to play the piano, or taking up a new hobby where new skills are required. Being a deft hand at searching the Internet also appears to put the mind through its paces.
The UCLA team worked with 24 "neurologically normal" volunteers between the ages of 55 and 76. Half had experience using the web, the other half did not.
Participants performed Internet searches and book-reading tasks while a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine scanned their noggins.
All showed significant brain activity while reading, using regions of the brain that control language, reading, memory, and visual abilities.
The effect of Internet searches on the brain were not so universal, however. Each participant showed about the same brain activity they demonstrated while reading books, but the web-savvy also registered activity in the frontal, temporal, and cingulate areas of the brain, controlling decision-making and complex reasoning.
"Our most striking finding was that Internet searches appear to engage a greater extent of neural circuitry that is not activated during reading – but only those with prior Internet experience," said principal investigator Gary Small, a professor at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.
So searching for health material is not only good for your well being but also good for your brains.
As for nagging parents - no Internets in my time. My mum didn't really nag about staying up late but she did keep throwing slippers at my bedroom door when I couldn't hear her over the music that I played at a reasonable volume in my room ^^;
Do your parents nag at you about your Internet usage? It looks like many of you stay up late.
Image from Gelbooru.
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Student
http://chappypyon.wordpress.com/
My parents don't really nag at me often, only when i really stay up too late.
Grocery Store Clerk
me too, plus they do not know of my echi habits
mouse clicker
same chases here. LOL
Wannabe Web Developer
http://www.sakuafk.com
My mom keeps telling to stop being in front of computer all the time ^^;; and always says that my eyes need a rest.
Otaku/ Secondary School Student/
http://kawaiiboyz.blogspot.com/
hey.. same with me... my mom always nag at me been at front computer more than 2 hour...
There are many occupation modes, wondering is one of them
http://www.jabunta.com
same here
Daigakusei [Consular and Diplomatic Affairs]
http://dixinfernal.wordpress.com
me too~ T_T
Otaku / Student in Networking
http://hayasaki-kun.blogspot.com/
haha same for me xD
same here lol >.>
Disc Jockey, Storeman, Computer Tech, Misc.
and yet.. they say if kids watch more than two hours of tv a day its bad for your health lol. i have found that i learn things alot better if shown to me via a computer, than sitting and listening to someone boring try to explain things. i guess thats just the way we technolically minded people are now days.
student, doujinshi manga artist
This is somethin that one of my teachers at school said.
People with who use the right side of their brain tend to more artistic than people who use their left (in theory, I don't know if this is true) the right brain is used for things like drawing, music, etc. and the left is used more for logic and reason. And you can kinda feel you right brain being used more (I can at least) so yea.
And maybe I should be looking at more ecchi
大学の学生 １st year
http://otakunaka.blogspot.com/
Lolz what if you are in the middle? Cause Im a fairly decent drawer but I'm also logical and I look at quite a bit of ecchiness.
Student
http://www.joesblog.jp
forwarded to my mum :D
IT
http://nails.otaku.jp
I think my parents next line would be something like "that's not the stimulation we had in mind for you". However if your parents constantly nagged you to read books, and you just started reading female porn/romance novels, then your reply could be "be careful what you wish for".
Disc Jockey, Storeman, Computer Tech, Misc.
its every parents worst nightmare to discover there innocent lil child isnt so innocent, and in most cases will try and pretend it was all some misguided mistake and hopefully they can recover there special lil child from the clutches of evil hahah.
Student
http://anime.tedfox.com/
i stay up till the wee hours of the morning on weekends
dad comes in to bug every now and then, but it's usually rather peaceful over here...ahh
流浪人
Yay! I can justify my surfing, now... ^^;;;
Random person, with random hobbies.
http://thekandieman.com/nfwu
Lovely new excuse... <3
Student of Computer Info. & Office Sys.
Well... I don't live with her anymore, but that doesn't stop my mom from giving me crap about being in front of a computer all the time.
Maybe if I forward this to her she'll give me a bit of a break~
Playing with 16G needles!
I get nag at all the time @_@
My parents nag me sometimes, so i'll have to take breaks so they don't start.... you know, but i'm definitely sending this lol.
Student
http://sanguinerose.wordpress.com/
Mom always nag at me while using the computer. Now I have a reason to use it more ^^;
Student
http://www.stefkov.com/
I did, but when I moved out I didn't anymore. Wish this came out a few years ago.
College Student
I think the next study should be: "What's the healthiest search engine?"
My vote goes for Google.
高１学生 （工学・科学）
http://nurinamo.comli.com/
Danny, did your mother throw those brand-name slippers? o_o
anime, programmer, gfx designer, illustrator ^^
http://denkikoiji.com
no nagging for me ^^ except on occasion i had the music up too loud lol ^^
Student
http://yellowguy89.blogspot.com/
well this is just good news for me.
I surf pixiv for hours in search of good quality pictures. 4chan or 2chan cant even compare!
Moe Hunter
http://moehunter.wordpress.com/
I pay for the net usage in the house, and have my own laptop. So,nothing ever to argue about. They do take the mickey out of me sometimes though. <__<
former Emperor of Britannia
http://reflectiarx.wordpress.com/
I gave my mmom her own pc so she stopped nagging me.
She browses the net longer than me now.
Regarding the stimulating of the brain. Yeah i guess it does since you focus better so that you
could get a good feel of it XD
Student
http://www.lesterho.com
It's true that my parents still nag about me for staying up late playing my computer. Even up until now when I'm in Japan, They still nag about me the same thing over again through skype asking me to stop playing my computer and sleep early which I don't. LOL!
中学生
http://thezhukeeper.blogspot.com
I am safe as long as I sleep before my dad says "good morning" to me ^^;
三年せいとオタク
My parents nag me all the time to get off the computer and read a book or somthing >> I do somtimes but I never see them reading a book. So I usually end up staying on the computer till like 1am on school days and 2am on nonschool days :D
NEET part-time - Technical Support Officer - Network security engineer
http://burugureibi.blogspot.com/
my parents nag at me for spending too much time in front of my computer - Well, i can't really help it - most of my holiday projects involve being in front of a PC
I guess thinking about search tags and keywords must be the reason for this, but you know, you can always play a few rounds of Mahjong and i bet it will have a simillar effect
Student, Writer
http://lecrit.tumblr.com/
Got in trouble in High School, sneaking back online after lights off, sometimes even hitting a game of starcraft or two. :3 Nowadays, my parents don't bother. Too old for nagging I guess? xD
Interesting that only web-savvy people generate more brain activity. Thought it would have been the other way around...
Nekophilia
Nagging parents I have. ^^;
They can't stand seeing me in front of the pc... Even when I'm doin homework.
And - nice pic ^^
Student
http://shockerz.wordpress.com/
My parent are cool with my computer usage and never did nag me for playing to long. I need to bring this up to my parent for them to be updated in this news.
Student & Game Designer
http://www.artificialzeromedia.com/
I love science ! =D
Student, Uncle & hopfully a good husband..
Now i have a reason to search more these days....
Looking for Work
They kind of used to when I was younger but I am at the age now when I want to move out and get my own place, but the current employment pool is extremely dry at the moment, so this prevents me from doing so. I pay board money to live at home now so if they ever nag at me about time spent on the internet I am well within my rights to say "I pay to live here." ^^;
大学生
"It's all for your own good..", haha.
Viewfinder
http://www.flickr.com/photos/harem/
boy: mum, come here take a look!
mom: hmm....
boy: u see? internet does help stimulate my brain!
mom: oowh i c ur point clearly, but...
boy: ??
mom: *pointing her finger towards the 'eye'
boy: • • • •
boy: well, at least there's no 'pupil' shown right?
mom: hyakuretsukyaku!!!!!
大学生
http://justaskeikaku.net23.net
Is always sleeping late now coz it's holidays. Often sleeping 2-3am which I feel is a good enough reason for my parents to nag me >_>
mom click on search, just right the block u write, please
Student and full-time otaku
Hehe,nice to know ^^. My parents only nag about me buying figures, not looking hard enough for a girl and not getting a job, but at least not about the interwebs...they used too though when it was still dial-up, but that's logical I gues...
Artist
http://www.collateralds.com/
O.O didn't expect my drawing to be in your blog..... I hope the pixiv admin don't mind about it since they need to sell this. Personally i don't mind about it (since your blog is good for publicity haha)
Young Grasshopper
http://miragestrike.blogspot.com
My parents doesn't nag as much as before when I'm up too late. But i still haven't experienced the pleasure of staying up for 24hrs straight though. XD
Student, Bioresearch Assistant, WAVE VP Communications
http://gndynames.wordpress.com
My parents stopped caring as long as I produce high grades ^_^
But then that means I'm rarely on the computer, which kind of defeats the purpose >.>
Your local Otaku Cashier.
I guess I shouldn't leave my computer anymore to make sure my brain doesn't crap out.
hw sw engineer
http://darkfader.blogspot.com/
When we're not internetting, we are either watching anime or working (ahem) at work.
Nobody's mind is overflowing or afraid good memories are being overwritten with new useless data?
The brain is a weird thing.
Flash Artist / Otaku
Sweet... now i have a shield against my parents!! ZS
+ my dad nags mostly >_>
Future Idol
http://puddingparadise.blogspot.com
My mum used to nag me a lot.
Video Reviewer of Anime Figures, Mecha and Merch (youtube.com/user/Actar576295)
http://actar.wordpress.com
One report won't have any effect on them... sad to say...
Video Reviewer of Anime Figures, Mecha and Merch (youtube.com/user/Actar576295)
http://actar.wordpress.com
Do I spy FIGMAS and a Max Factory Yuki there?
Student
http://www.certaincake.com
Yah. Look at the DVD cases on the top right, too. I loled at 'Call of Daty'.
Who the hell is Daty?
university film student | ecchikid | the Archivist
http://www.vimeo.com/longhim
They used to complain about my computer use, but ever since my Mom discovered YouTube and music sites and my Dad discovered torrents, they don't bug me any more. (I suspect the latter is the reason why my own torrents crawl...)
So now what they nag about is my late bedtime. Which is sort of justified. I hate being told when to sleep, especially since they start if they catch me awake at 2 AM, but the fact that I usually sleep at 5 AM really does need to be fixed.
Ordinary soul (student)
http://www.ekowc.net
heh, The study says that it only affects people over 55 years.
And I think that only few percent of us are over 55 years...
I don't live with my parents anymore, so they can't nag anymore.
Student
Don't have internet permanent connection at home, only have cellphone internet at some time. It is too slow for me and I tend to use internet at my dorm room or at work:)
But my mother always tells me and my brother (and my sister and father also) that we spend too much time at the computer and should spend more time outside. She is a doctor, so she probably has a point:P
Engineer / Student
http://www.takotech.net/mshp/
My parents don't nag, but sometimes my waifu used to nag ^_^ Got her a laptop a couple of years ago and now we're both on the internets for too much of the time ^^;;
University's Slave
I guess those with weak Google-fu just read through almost every link, while those with strong Google-fu know that many links are redundant or irrelevant, and so make the effort to decide which ones are likely to offer what they're actually looking for. Now I know why my mom always has me do internet research on her behalf--she's a slow reader AND has weak Google-fu.
College student, Mech programmer and striving photographer.
http://moeforme.blogspot.com
I pretty much have the internet all to myself at home. No one really uses it. Plus I have my own laptop so eh =/
Supreme Commander of NERV Co.
Only when I'm on my 360 lol
Dirty Gentleman
http://cantstanzya.wordpress.com/
Something tells me Danny has used this excuse when caught looking at oppai
College Freshmen
So in other words, I'm just preparing for the long term future. Nice.
Graphic designer
My parents don't nag, they praise my computer skills and browsing behavior actually... kinda weird but I guess that's what they are.
They are totally cool and don't mind looking at ecchi stuff with either my mom or dad around (my dad asked me to download him some good porn because I can't make sense out of the internets haha)
Graphic designer
Argh, *HE can't make sense out of internet
I don't think my mom is going to believe this. >_>
Student, Goddess of the Blue Star
I could tell my parents this and they would never believe me. It would still be nag, computer, nag, off, nag. Then, I shout random words of profanity ( in japanese so they dont know what I'm saying Bwahaha!)and log off.
Otaku, Animation Major
http://xlhaseolx.deviantart.com/
My parents only nag me about the computer when they need to use it. Other than that they really don't care since I tell them stuff I learned on the internets all the time.
Hobby fan
The internet wasn't there when I was a kid, but they used to complain about me playing videogames late in the night but, you know, they couldn't be around me all the time =^_^=
Student
http://web.mit.edu/anime/www/index.shtml
Just like everything causes cancer, everything stimulates the brain but to different extents. ^w^
JR. College Student
http://npc.talkingincircles.net/
They nag like no tomorrow! They hate it when I stay up late! I don't know why, all my classes are in the afternoon.
As for the study, that's cool. But most of my google searches are probably for spell checking. ^_^
Student
Back when I was living with them, my PC was on the second floor and my bed on the first, not to mention that my parents bed was right under the stairs.
Long story short my staying up late was a real annoyance for them
http://www.rxsiu.wordpress.com
I like that - reasonable volume lol...
http://orange.exofire.net
I find it interesting that the first thing I see after coming back from class is an article for something originating from my university....
Geotechnical Engineer
Hey! I bought that illustration from the Comic Fest in Malaysia! Sweet!
student
But sleeping late kinda balances with surfing the net since staying up late shortens the life span, so its good and bad.
???Confused???
My dad is the one that does all the nagging saying stuff like "why don't you read books" or "staying in front of your laptop too long is bad for your skin" like it's worse than sun burn...what annoys my parents though I think it's mostly because I stay up late and so they blame the internet...when they hear this is a study from my ol' alma mater, that should calm them down...I hope...
thousand master II, Internet Learner, Auto didacta
http://pipopaz.wordpress.com/
well this just perfect excuse for my long hours in my "searching"~!
Student and Otaku
Hm, I read books and search through the internet so I guess my brain stimulates twice as much.
Saber's Knight of One
http://www.ultima-i.com
That's a good point...
That means that I get 2x the stimulus as well. Yay us?
Wibbling+Writing+Teaching
http://www.kakebuke.net
Thirded! I feel like I'm not reading enough books lately, though.
Student artist
http://www.requestview.wordpress.com
hahhahaha, I have a counter argument for my teacher! Explains why I get a headache when searching some stuff I cant not find
i need 10 votes on this one
no naging parents but my brother!!!1
Designer graphic
my mom sometime ... bang the door to my room
and unpugged the cable of my PC...cuz it's late already...
huehehe too bad
Student
depends on what you do on the comp :D
i'd say half the time is procrastination in which nagging is appropriate
Ronin
http://roadblogg.blogspot.com
I think Nagging is brain stimulus to them. ^.^
Mechanical Engineering student
http://sabekujikaneda.multiply.com/
I think it depends on what you do with the Internet. But it sure does make me happy to see this bit of news. Now I know that all those hours using the Internet is not a complete waste of my time x_x
aspiring to become a doujin and graphics artist cum lawyer
http://aki7.bottled-wish.info
while I do hate the nagging there is a point in reading my friends, so otherwise I advise not dropping reading for H stuff :)
reading helps you widen your vocabulary and raises your chances to comunicate properly with us girls and...well the ecchi stuff should also be there to enhance the successful encounter :D
but seriously, I'd never drop reading real books cause well, nothing beats them save for the fact that ecchi is much more engaging hehe
Undergraduate Student
http://akatsukiotoko.blogspot.com
Another great reason to release my stress...
Professional Student
i think searching ecchi stuff improve the functions of the brain and physical health better
http://pantsukudasai.deviantart.com/
Although it produces brain activity, that doesn't necessary mean it's more beneficial or equivalent to book reading or other productive hobbies.
You could just be searching useless things on the web that fire off neurons in your brain.
Just like how sleeping and watching TV burns calories... doesn't mean it's better than exercise.
Student/ musician
Although I agree in some ways, and understand what you're saying; this article is saying it IS better than reading.
If people that have past computer experience are having neuronal response shown by searching the internet in areas that reading includes, AND other parts of the brain, then it is in fact more beneficial. Because it also, for example, stimulated the part of the brain that controls creativity, whereas reading does not, further sections of the brain are being developed.
In your analogy, you mentioned sleeping vs. exorcising, however that's a bad comparison as sleeping only burns 15 calories an hour whereas working out burns around 80p/h and uses muscles.
anime junky :3
http://www.youtube.com/ThisGuyJohn
lol my parents sometimes use their computers all day, (during the weekend) so they never bother me.. even when i'm up at 4-5am for no reason.
Student (Programing, Streaming, Gaming)
Parents don't realy nag, they jsut tell me to let the dogs outside when I head up for bed.
Whats getting to me is what is that girl doing in the picture? is she drawing something on the notepad thing? Someone please explain to me what she is drawing on.
thank you!
Tech Freak
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendId=191670173
My parents nag me anytime I'm near my computer or xbox 360. so i usually get on my computer at night till dawn. same for my xbox. XD. that way they're not awake to nag at me.
Dance Trooper: DCX-001 O.D.E. (Order of the Dancing Empire)
http://dannychoo.com.my
Whose parents doesn't nag if they are caring about their children ^_^
being a teenager// high school// life
Good thing I don't have to worry too much about this. My parents don't nag at me at all to get off the computer which quite frankly dosen't bother me at all... LONG LIVE NON NAGGING PARENTS XD
student, ventilation fitter
my parents nag me all the time. finally a good excuse
studying comp studies, planning to look for part time job
http://bruneian-otaku.blogspot.com
only my mom but my dad is an open mind person
Service and Support Engineer
not my mo. but my wife is... :'(
Otaku Programmer/Gamer/Artist/Photographer
http://argylebolivar.wordpress.com
my parents don't nag at me often...only at very important stuff XD haha other than that..they leave me alone to my own things ^^ :3
Student
http://www.sukimiya.com
Lol at slipper-throwing mommy~ =))