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Surfing the Internet Alters Development of the Brain

by Terrence O'Brien on October 29, 2008 at 12:05 PM


New research from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) shows that the Internet and technology is already changing the development of the human mind. Gary Small, the director of the Memory & Aging Research Center at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior and the Center on Aging at UCLA (phew...), has found that activities such as text messaging and Internet searching improves a person's ability to filter information, perform complex reasoning, and make quick decisions.

Small warns, however, that these evolutionary advancements are coming at the expense of face-to-face social skills and he warns of the danger of Internet addiction. "The brain is very specialized in its circuitry, and if you repeat mental tasks over and over, it will strengthen certain neural circuits and ignore others," he says. He also told Reuters in an interview that those who are able to combine both the new technologically developed skills and traditional social abilities will be the most successful in years to come. [From: Reuters]

Tags: breaking news, BreakingNews, evolution, health, internet, science, studies

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