Shopping can boost the brainpower of the elderly, researchers have found. 

研究人员发现，购物能提高老年人的智力。

Duke University scientists found older adults seem to need extra brainpower to make shopping decisions - especially ones that rely on memory.

To do this, they discovered they use an additional brain area to remember competing consumer products and choose the better one - meaning they don't miss a bargain. Older shoppers use an additional brain area to remember competing consumer products and choose the better one - meaning they don't miss a bargain.

'The study gives a bright picture, actually,' Nichole Lighthall, who led the research, appearing Nov. 19 in the Journal of Neuroscience.

'It suggests that for healthy older adults, even though their memory might not be as good, they can naturally recruit other brain regions that are not typically involved in the task. 

'It seems that it allows them to perform at a higher level.'