How Stories and Reading Change Your Brain

Could reading affect the way you think? According to a new study, it can. Scientists have discovered that actual changes in the brain linger, at least for a few days, after reading a novel. The findings lend evidence to the fact that reading may cause changes in the resting-state connectivity of the brain.

"Stories can shape our lives and in some cases help define a person," said Gregory Berns, one of the researchers, in a news release. "We want to understand how stories get into your brain, and what they do to it."

In order to find that out, the scientists examined the brains of 21 Emory undergraduates after they read the same novel, "Pompeii." The researchers chose this novel in particular due to its page-turning plot that depicts true events in a fictional and dramatic way. The scientists then used fMRI to scan the brains of the volunteers every morning.

So what did they find? The scientists discovered that there was heightened connectivity in the left temporal cortex, an area of the brain associated with receptivity for language, on the mornings following the reading assignments.

"Even though the participants were not actually reading the novel while they were in the scanner, they retained this heightened connectivity," said Berns in a news release. "We call that a 'shadow activity,' almost like a muscle memory."

That's not all, either. The researchers also saw heightened connectivity in the central sulcus of the brain, which is the primary sensory motor region of the brain. Neurons of this region have been associated with making representations of sensation for the body, a phenomenon known as grounded cognition. Just thinking about running, for example, can activate the neurons associated with running.

"The neural changes that we found associated with physical sensation and movement suggest that reading a novel can transport you into the body of the protagonist," said Berns in a news release. "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."

The findings reveal that novels can have more of an impact that originally thought. Your favorite book may just influence the way you think in ways that you couldn't imagine.

The findings are published in the journal Brain Connectivity.