2023-05-03 14:00:00
81% of French people consider themselves to be “readers” in 2021, according to a IPSOS study produced for the Center national du livre. But for some the exercise is complex: people with dyslexia may have difficulty identifying words. To better understand the origin of this disorder, American researchers looked at brain activity during reading. They publish their results in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Reading: electrodes to understand what is happening in the brain
“Reading a sentence involves integrating the meanings of individual words to derive a more complex, higher-order meaning, specify the authors in the preamble of their study. This very rapid and complex human behavior is known to engage the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and middle temporal gyrus (MTG) in the language-dominant hemisphere, but whether there are distinct contributions from these regions remains unclear. reading sentencesTo figure this out, they analyzed recordings of brain activity made while people were reading, using electrodes.Electrodes implanted in the brain provide us with insight into the inner workings of the human mind, especially for fast processes, like reading.”, explains Nitin Tandon, co-author of the study. The neuronal activity of these patients was measured during the reading of three forms of sentences: classic sentences, said sentences “Jabberwocky” from the poem of the same name by Lewis Carroll, which have correct grammar and syntax but contain nonsense words which take away any form of meaning from them and finally lists of meaningless words.
Two brain networks involved in reading
This analysis allowed them to identify two brain networks that play a key role in the reading process. “A network involves a region in the frontal lobe of the brain that sends signals to the temporal lobe, which gradually activates as a person infers complex meaning throughout a sentence“, they note. The second network is linked to a region of the temporal lobe of the brain which sends signals to an area of the frontal lobe: this allows the integration of the context of a sentence to facilitate the understanding and processing of each new word read.
Brain and reading: towards better management of dyslexia?
“This study helps us better understand how the hubs of the brain’s linguistic network work together and interact to allow us to understand complex sentences.develops Oscar Woolnough, lead author of the study. For us to understand language requires a precise sequence of rapid and dynamic processes that occur at multiple brain sites.. “The researchers hope that this better understanding of the brain processes related to reading will lead to further research into the management of dyslexia.
1683122970
#brain #reading
