Just what is your brain doing while you read?

Reading is truly something ...

When one reads , or at least in my case , you can imagine vivid images in your mind , constructed using only your imagination based on your interpretations of the words you are reading .

Often when you put the book down you don't remember the words that you have read , in steed you remember the visual images that you had seen in your mind while you were reading , reading is truly something .

Reading has many benefits , kinda like vegetables I guess , it keeps the brain thinking and learning , more so then just about any other from of recreation could hope to provide .

I have herd of many different studies that the "experts " have conducted on people well playing video games and watching T.V . These studies have ranged from measuring ones heart rate to actual brain scans . These studies then go on to report there findings which are in turn transfered to "us" via a 30 sec news report or a lengthy article in one of the science magazines .

My question is , has any such study been done on people well reading ? I would be very interested in hearing of any such studies , or perhaps you can share your thoughts on reading .

[edit on 6-4-2009 by Max_TO]

[edit on 6-4-2009 by Max_TO]

reply to post by Max_TO



Well = While

at least for you...





To the OP:



Here you go...


[edit on 4/6/2009 by chapter29]

Originally posted by chapter29
reply to post by Max_TO

 

Well = While

at least for you...

AKKK
Thanks on both counts


To the OP:



Here you go...


[edit on 4/6/2009 by chapter29]

AKKK
Thanks on both counts

And this ofcourse is another interesting study....

A forthcoming journal article in Psychological Science reports on the research of scientists from the Dynamic Cognition Laboratory at Washington University in St. Louis into what brain activity takes place while we read narrative stories. The study concludes that our brains simulate the action in the story, echoing it as we read.

Study

Very interesting !

I am curious to learn if any studies were done comparing the reading of a website or ebook to a book or box of cereal ? It would be interesting to see if there was any difference in there findings .

reply to post by Max_TO


I assume the brain would funtion the same way when reading information. However it would process completely different if they were hearing the information as opposed to absorbing it at your own pace.

I did read a study that suggested children retained far more information when things were presented visually than orally. Also the ammount of information retained could be manipulated by changing the color of the text.

Apparently colors influence our ability to learn and process information. White on Black actually scored lowest among information retention, but scored highest on general understanding of concept.

~Keeper

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Very good point that you bring up . It reminds me of two things ... I remember an old art teacher I had back in grade 6 , or there about , that told us that very thing , that colors are very important when using words . She went on to say that if a word is made up of different color letters for each letter that ones brain simply would not know the word , in steed it was more your memory of seeing the word before that would allow you to recognize it , I apologize for not being able to better illustrate what my teacher had said so long ago but I believe that you get the gist of what I am saying .

The other thing that you have reminded me of was once in school I can remember a fellow classmate telling me that using yellow in steed of the traditional white for your writing paper made what you were writing and reading much easier to retain .

[edit on 6-4-2009 by Max_TO]