The Brain & The Novel: Connecting Facts to Fiction
Photo Credit: Jennifer Eubanks via one of my book shelves
Have you created your 2015 Summer Reading List? Personally, after reading this week’s research study titled, “Short- and Long- Term Effects of a Novel on Connectivity in the Brain,” I will definitely be diving into some thought-provoking books in the near future, and I hope all of you will be joining me as well.
A few years ago, researchers from Emory University set out to uncover how novel reading impacts and alters connections in the brain. They additionally hypothesized that well written stories transformed the structure and overall function of the mind.
After examining MRI reports from 19 individuals between the ages of 19 and 27 for nineteen consecutive days, the investigators found that their theory was correct.
Within the study, participants were asked to “rest” their brains for the first 5 days, read 1/9th of Pompeii: A Novel by Robert Harris (Fawcett, 2003) per day for the middle 9 days, and then “rest” again for the remaining 5 days of the examination. During the story days, quizzes and self-evaluations of the prior night's reading were given to measure changes in the brain’s connectivity.
The researchers found the following facts to be true:
There were significant changes in cerebellar connectivity from the beginning to the end of the study. MRIs taken the first day after participants began reading showed the largest increase in brain activity. Another rise occurred on the climactic last story day, where the volcano erupted, and continued climbing throughout the following “rest” days.
Short-term changes: during the 9 days of reading Pompeii: A Novel, the team found that most of the brain had considerable increased activity due to comprehension (evening reading assignments) and reflection (morning quizzes).
Long-term changes: after completing the novel, brain activity remained elevated for the last five “rest” days of the study. The researchers believed that this might have been due to a linguring psychological connection between the reader and the characters/events within Pompeii: A Novel.
So, what’s the bottom line about your brain on novels?
According to Emory University’s five researchers, reading narratives does not only enhance your vocabulary and comprehension skills, but also continues to affect who you are as a person for the rest of your life.
In a sense, we are all what we read— so how will you begin your next chapter?
Video Credit: Jessica Dawn via YouTube
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Source: Berns, Gregory S., Kristina Blaine, Michael J. Prietula, and Brandon E. Pye. "Short- and Long-Term Effects of a Novel on Connectivity in the Brain." Brain Connectivity. 2013, 3(6): 590-600. doi:10.1089/brain.2013.0166. (PDF: http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/pdf/10.1089/brain.2013.0166)
#brain #novel #facts #fiction #connectingfactstofiction #summerreading #summerreadinglist #shorttermandlongtermeffects #brainconnectivity #thoughtprovokingbooks #books #narratives #researchers #EmoryUniversity #impactofreading #connectionsinthebrain #mind #wellwrittenstories #MRI #washin #washout #PompeiiANovel #RobertHarris #quizzes #selfevaluation #cerebellarconnectivity #brainactivity #vocabulary #comprehension #weareallwhatweread