SVG Healthwatch: Can a GPS Rot Your Brain?

A new study from McGill University hints that people who rely heavily on GPS devices for directions show less activity in the hippocampus of their brain, an area of the brain believed to be involved in memory and navigation. Healthy young adults tend to spontaneously use a spatial approach when navigating a virtual maze, the McGill researchers found in their studies. But most older adults used a response strategy. That shift may lead to atrophy of the hippocampus, a risk factor for cognitive problems in normal aging and in Alzheimer’s disease. Click here for the complete story.