Reading a novel triggers lasting changes in the brain
Saturday 28 December 2013 - 12am PST
Lovers of
literature can rejoice: a new study combines the humanities and neuroscience to
take a look at what effects reading a novel can have on the brain. Researchers
say exploring a book can not only change your perspective, but also it can
change your mind - at least for a few days.
The researchers,
from Emory University in Atlanta, GA, published their findings in the journal Brain
Connectivity. Neuroscientist Gregory Berns, lead author and director of Emory's Center for Neuropolicy, says:
"Stories
shape our lives and in some cases help define a person. We want to understand
how stories get into your brain, and what they do to it."
To investigate
the inner workings of the novel-reading mind, the researchers recruited 21
undergraduates from Emory, who were instructed to read a thriller written by
Robert Harris in 2003, titled Pompeii.
Based on the
real-life eruption of Mount Vesuvius in ancient Italy, Berns explains that the
narrative "follows a [fictional] protagonist, who is outside the city of
Pompeii and notices steam and strange things happening around the
volcano."
While the
protagonist tries to save the woman he loves back in Pompeii, the volcano continues
to erupt, and meanwhile others in the city do not recognize the signs, Berns
says.
"It was
important to us that the book had a strong narrative line," he explains,
so that the study participants would read a book with an intriguing plot.
Changes in language
and sensory motor brain regions
After performing fMRI scans, researchers found that reading a novel causes
lasting effects in regions of the brain responsible for language receptivity
and for making sensory representations of the body.
For 19 days in a
row, the study participants were analyzed by the researchers. For the first 5
days, the investigators performed base-line functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI) scans on the students' brains while they were in a resting
state.
Then, over the
course of 9 days, the students read specific portions of the novel until they completed
it. Instructed to read each assigned part in the evening, the students came
back to the researchers in the morning.
In true college
undergraduate style, they had to take a quiz in order to prove they had
completed the assigned reading, after which, they again underwent an fMRI scan
during a non-reading, resting state.
After completion
of the novel, the students then returned for 5 additional days, during which
they again underwent scans while in a resting state.
On the mornings
after the reading sessions, the researchers observed heightened connectivity in
the left temporal cortex, which is an area of the brain linked to receptivity
for language.
Berns explains
that this heightened connectivity remained, even though the students were not
reading the book while they were being scanned.
"We call
that a 'shadow activity,' almost like a muscle memory," he says.
The
investigators also noticed heightened connectivity in an area of the brain
known as the central sulcus. This is a main sensory motor region of the brain,
which is associated with making representations of sensation for the body.
They explain
that, for example, when we merely think about running, we can activate
neurons in the brain that are associated with the actual physical motion of
running.
Neural changes are
not just instant reactions
Berns says their
findings "suggest that reading a novel can transport you into the body of
the protagonist."
He adds:
"We already knew that good stories can put you in someone else's shoes
in a figurative sense. Now we're seeing that something may also be happening
biologically." Interestingly, because the investigators observed these neural changes even 5 days after the students had finished the novel, Berns says the reactions were not simply instantaneous.
Although he says the team is not sure how long these changes last, Berns notes that since they observed them while the students were reading a "randomly assigned novel suggests that your favorite novels could certainly have a bigger and longer-lasting effect on the biology of your brain."
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