{"id":7049,"date":"2024-12-10T12:17:30","date_gmt":"2024-12-10T12:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/?p=7049"},"modified":"2024-12-10T12:17:30","modified_gmt":"2024-12-10T12:17:30","slug":"people-who-are-good-at-reading-have-different-brains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/index.php\/people-who-are-good-at-reading-have-different-brains\/","title":{"rendered":"People who are good at reading have different\u00a0brains"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mikael Roll<\/a>, Lund University<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The number of people who read for fun appears to be steadily dropping. Fifty percent of UK adults say they don\u2019t read regularly (up from 42% in 2015)
\nand almost one in four young people aged 16-24 say they\u2019ve never been readers, according to research by The Reading Agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But what are the implications? Will people\u2019s preference for video over text affect our brains or our evolution as a species? What kind of brain structure do good readers actually have? My new study<\/a>, published in Neuroimage, has found out.<\/p>\n

I analysed open-source data from more than 1,000 participants to discover that readers of varying abilities had distinct traits in brain anatomy.<\/p>\n

The structure of two regions in the left hemisphere, which are crucial for language, were different in people who were good at reading. <\/p>\n

One was the anterior part of the temporal lobe. The left temporal pole helps associate and categorise different types of meaningful information. To assemble the meaning of a word such as leg<\/em>, this brain region associates the visual, sensory and motor information conveying how legs look, feel and move<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The other was Heschl\u2019s gyrus, a fold on the upper temporal lobe which hosts the auditory cortex (the cortex is the outermost layer of the brain). Better reading ability was linked to a larger anterior part of the temporal lobe in the left hemisphere compared to the right. It makes sense that having a larger brain area dedicated to meaning makes it easier to understand words and, therefore, to read.<\/p>\n

What might seem less intuitive is that the auditory cortex would be related to reading. Isn\u2019t reading mainly a visual skill? Not only. To pair letters with speech sounds, we first need to be aware of the sounds of the language. This phonological awareness<\/em> is a well-established precursor<\/a> to children\u2019s reading development.<\/p>\n

A thinner left Heschl\u2019s gyrus has previously been related to dyslexia, which involves severe reading difficulties<\/a>. My research shows that this variation in cortical thickness does not draw a simple dividing line between people with or without dyslexia. Instead, it spans the larger population, in which a thicker auditory cortex correlates with more adept reading. <\/p>\n

Why size matters<\/h2>\n

Is thicker always better? When it comes to cortical structure, no, not necessarily. We know the auditory cortex has more myelin in the left hemisphere of most people. Myelin is a fatty substance that acts as an insulator for nerve fibres. It increases neural communication speed and can also insulate columns of brain cells from each other. Neural columns are believed to function<\/a> as small processing units. <\/p>\n

Their increased isolation and rapid communication in the left hemisphere can be thought to enable the fast, categorical processing necessary for language. We need to know if a speaker uses the category d<\/em> or t<\/em> when saying dear<\/em> or tear<\/em> rather than detecting the exact point where the vocal folds start vibrating. <\/p>\n

According to the \u201cballoon model\u201d of cortical growth, the larger amount of myelin squeezes out left-hemispheric cortical areas, making them flatter but more extended<\/a>. So while the left auditory cortex may be thicker in good readers, it is still thinner (but much more extended) than the corresponding right cortex.<\/p>\n

This hypothesis was corroborated in the recent research. The left hemisphere had generally larger but thinner cortical areas with a higher degree of myelin.<\/p>\n

So is thinner better, then? Again, the answer is no, not necessarily. Complex abilities that require integrating information tend to benefit from a thicker cortex. The anterior temporal lobe with its complex way of integrating information is indeed the thickest structure of all cortical areas. An underlying mechanism might be the existence of more overlapping, interacting neurons which process information more holistically<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Phonology is a highly complex skill, where different sound and motor features are integrated into speech sounds. It appears to correlate with a thicker cortex<\/a> in an area near the left Heschl\u2019s gyrus. While it is unclear to what extent phonology is processed in Heschl\u2019s gyrus, the fact that phoneticians often have multiple left Heschl\u2019s gyri suggests it is linked to speech sounds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n \"Brain
\n The temporal lobe is involved in reading.<\/span>
\n Shutterstock<\/a><\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clearly, brain structure can tell us a lot about reading skills. Importantly, though, the brain is malleable \u2014 it changes when we learn a new skill or practice an already acquired one. <\/p>\n

For instance, young adults who studied language intensively increased their cortical thickness in language areas<\/a>. Similarly, reading is likely to shape the structure of the left Heschl\u2019s gyrus and temporal pole. So, if you want to keep your Heschl\u2019s thick and thriving, pick up a good book and start reading.<\/p>\n

Finally, it\u2019s worth considering what might happen to us as a species if skills like reading become less prioritised. Our capacity to interpret the world around us and understand the minds of others would surely diminish. In other words, that cosy moment with a book in your armchair isn\u2019t just personal \u2013 it\u2019s a service to humanity.\"The<\/p>\n

Mikael Roll<\/a>, Professor of Phonetics, Lund University<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mikael Roll, Lund University The number of people who read for fun appears to be steadily dropping. Fifty percent of UK adults say theyRead More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7050,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAowu7GVCw:productID":"","_crdt_document":"","activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"federate","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[413,13637,13635,13642,13633,13634,722,13640,13643,13638,13639,13644,726,13641,13636,723],"class_list":["post-7049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-human-interest","tag-audiology","tag-auditory-cortex","tag-auditory-system","tag-auditosensory-cortex","tag-cerebral-cortex","tag-cerebrum","tag-creative-commons","tag-gyrus","tag-heschl","tag-human-brain","tag-insular-cortex","tag-mikael-roll","tag-shutterstock","tag-superior-temporal-gyrus","tag-temporal-lobe","tag-united-kingdom"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/file-20241209-15-bca7o-1024x683.jpg","blog_images":{"medium":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/file-20241209-15-bca7o-300x200.jpg","large":"https:\/\/mpelembe.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/file-20241209-15-bca7o-1024x683.jpg"},"ams_acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPeople who are good at reading have different\u00a0brains - 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