justamouse Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 This is Your Brain on Jane Austen During a series of ongoing experiments, functional magnetic resonance images track blood flow in the brains of subjects as they read excerpts of a Jane Austen novel. Experiment participants are first asked to leisurely skim a passage as they might do in a bookstore, and then to read more closely, as they would while studying for an exam. Phillips said the global increase in blood flow during close reading suggests that "paying attention to literary texts requires the coordination of multiple complex cognitive functions." Blood flow also increased during pleasure reading, but in different areas of the brain. Phillips suggested that each style of reading may create distinct patterns in the brain that are "far more complex than just work and play." [snip] After reviewing early scans, neuroscientist Bob Dougherty, research director of CNI, said he was impressed by "how the right patterns of ink on a page can create vivid mental imagery and instill powerful emotions." Doherty was also surprised to see how "a simple request to the participants to change their literary attention can have such a big impact on the pattern of activity during reading." The researchers expected to see pleasure centers activating for the relaxed reading and hypothesized that close reading, as a form of heightened attention, would create more neural activity than pleasure reading. If the ongoing analysis continues to support the initial theory, Phillips said, teaching close reading (i.e., attention to literary form) "could serve – quite literally – as a kind of cognitive training, teaching us to modulate our concentration and use new brain regions as we move flexibly between modes of focus." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theYoungerMrsWarde Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 That's really cool! Thanks for sharing. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 :thumbup1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I was just coming here to post the link! I should have known you'd already done that ;) Here it is for those that want to read the rest of the article: http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/september/austen-reading-fmri-090712.html I'm going to read more classics this year. I want my brain to be healthier! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theYoungerMrsWarde Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 My sister just posted this on my facebook. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted September 13, 2012 Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 My sister just posted this on my facebook. :D Swoon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 On a slightly related note, I thought this article w/ artwork was pretty interesting: This is your brain on drugs: Adventurous artist draws dozens of bizarre self-portraits while high on various powerful narcotics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justLisa Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 INteresting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 On a slightly related note, I thought this article w/ artwork was pretty interesting:This is your brain on drugs: Adventurous artist draws dozens of bizarre self-portraits while high on various powerful narcotics Some of those drawings are pretty good for a stoned artist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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