Reacción a "The use of technology can reduce the risk of cognitive impairment in people over 50"

The society in which we live is immersed in the use of so-called digital technologies in many areas and environments. We use mobile phones, computers, video and imaging devices on numerous occasions throughout our lives. Is this use of digital technologies modifying our brains in any way, and thus our cognitive abilities?

On the other hand, brain damage may cause cognitive deficits in one person, but not in another. This concept can be applied to any clinical situation as long as there is no direct correspondence between a given brain change and cognitive function. The concept of ‘cognitive reserve’ emerged to explain the lack of direct correspondence between a degree of brain damage and associated clinical or cognitive manifestations, i.e. between having the lesions of a disease and developing its symptoms. The brain's ability to counteract the deleterious effects of ageing or disease is associated with exposure to environmental variables or lifestyles such as those we have been discussing: cognitively stimulating environments, sleep, physical activity, stress reduction and socialisation, among others.

In this context, one might ask whether lifetime exposure to digital technologies could affect our cognitive reserve and thus diminish our cognitive abilities, or whether the relationship would be in the opposite direction, with technology promoting behaviours that foster cognitive reserve and better cognition.

To try to answer this question, the authors of this paper analysed 57 research studies conducted on a total of 411,430 people. They repeated the analyses of their work by limiting it to research of the highest methodological quality. In both analyses, they found that the use of digital technologies throughout our lives is associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline. Taking the results as a whole, we could include the use of digital technologies as another factor that could help counteract the deleterious effects of ageing or even certain diseases, contributing to an increase in cognitive enhancement.

This could be of great significance for a society in which digital technologies are profoundly transforming the way we live, work and interact.