Can GPS Stop Your Brain from Functioning Properly?

A new study has found that when you use your GPS you may be turning off some of your brain functions.  The study looked at 24 participants, scanned their brains while they took a simulated drive around London.  The University College London found that activity in the hippocampus that controls your memory and navigational functions increased when the drivers had to guide themselves around the town.  When they used their GPS, their brains showed that it had shut off which could cause them to lose their ability to navigate at a later date.  The researchers also studied the Prefrontal Cortex which helps with planning and decision making.  The results were the same.

If we use the GPS instead of relying on our brain to figure out the directions, we don’t give our hippocampus and prefrontal cortex the opportunity to function properly.  Using the GPS may free up your brain for other activities but in time it will take away our ability to navigate even the easiest of cities/towns.