Good at Reading? Your Brain May Be Structured Differently

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The number of people who read for pleasure appears to be steadily declining. According to the survey, 50% of UK adults say they do not read often (compared to 42% in 2015), and nearly a quarter of 16 to 24-year-olds say they have never read. Reading Institutional Research.

But what impact does this have? Could people’s preference for video over text affect our brains or our evolution as a species? What kind of brain structure do good readers actually have? mine new researchResearch published in NeuroImage found this out.

I analyzed open source data from over 1,000 participants and found that readers of different abilities have different characteristics in their brain anatomy.

In people who are good readers, two areas of the left hemisphere that are critical for language are structured differently.

One of these is the front part of the temporal lobe. The left temporal pole helps associate and classify different types of meaningful information. Assemble the meaning of words, e.g. lega brain region that links visual, sensory and motor information Conveys how the legs look, feel and move.

The other is Herschl’s gyrus, a fold in the superior temporal lobe that contains the auditory cortex (the cortex is the outermost layer of the brain). A larger anterior temporal lobe in the left hemisphere is associated with better reading ability compared with the right hemisphere. It makes sense that having a larger area of ​​the brain dedicated to meaning makes it easier to understand words, making it easier to read.

What may seem less intuitive is that the auditory cortex is involved in reading. Isn’t reading primarily a visual ability? not only. In order to pair letters with sounds, we first need to understand the sounds of the language. this phonological awareness is a perfect precursor Conducive to children’s reading development.

Previously, thinning of Heschl’s left cerebral gyrus was associated with dyslexia. involving severe reading difficulties. My research shows that this change in cortical thickness does not draw a simple dividing line between people with and without dyslexia. Instead, it encompasses a larger population in which thicker auditory cortex is associated with more proficient reading.

Why size matters

Is the thicker the better? When it comes to cortical structures, no, not necessarily. We know that most people have more myelin in their left hemisphere auditory cortex. Myelin is a fatty substance that acts as an insulator for nerve fibers. It increases the speed of neural communication and also isolates columns of brain cells from each other. neural column considered to play a role as a small processing unit.

Increased isolation and rapid communication in the left hemisphere are thought to enable the rapid, categorical processing required for language. We need to know whether the speaker uses the category d or t when to say Honey or tear Rather than detecting the exact point at which the vocal cords begin to vibrate.