Reading actually changes the brain

A photo from open sources After reading a novel in the brain occur real changes and persist, at least for a few days, the researchers report. “Stories shape our life and in some cases help people with choice, “says neuroscientist Gregory Burns, lead author Research and director of the Emory Center for Neurostrategy. “We want understand how stories get into our brains and what they do with it. ” “The nerve changes we discovered are related to physical sensations and suggest that reading a novel may take you to the body of the protagonist, “says Gregory Berns.” it was already known that good stories can make you “feel like someone else’s shoes.” However now we see these changes at the biological level. “In their experiment, scientists proved that after five days of reading the novel in subjects the increased activity of the compounds in the left temporal cortex remains, brain area associated with language susceptibility. “Even though that the experiment participants did not read the novel before scanning brain, their brain retained increased activity in those areas which were activated directly during the reading, “- says Burns. “We call it” shadow activity, “almost like muscle memory. “Researchers have also noticed enhanced connections in central furrow. This is the sensory area of ​​the brain associated with creating a representation of the sensation of the body. New data on how reading a novel causes changes in brain connectivity published in Brain Connectivity Magazine.