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Computer technology is creating a culture of “digital natives” – people who grew up using technology – and “digital immigrants” – people who started using technology later in life, according to Dr. Gary Small, a professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences and director of the UCLA Center on Aging. Small, who published a book on his study entitled iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind, evaluated a group of 24 healthy adults from ages 55 to 76. He asked these participants to read books and conduct Internet searches, while his research team conducted MRI scans to determine their brain activities. The study concluded that the process of searching for information on the Internet sparked more brain activity than reading, particularly in the areas of the brain that involved decision-making and analyzing information. After obtaining these results Small suggested that, although the study was preliminary, care facilities and nursing homes should allow seniors more access to computers. To read more about this study, click here.