Your Brain on Fiction (article)

This morning I came across a link for an op-ed that appeared in Sunday's New York Times entitled "The Neuroscience of Your Brain on Fiction."  In the article, Annie Murphy Paul gathers the results of several recent neuroscience studies in which "brain scans are revealing what happens in our heads when we read a detailed description, an evocative metaphor or an emotional exchange between characters" (Murphy Paul, para. 2).  She cites several studies that have found that certain types of words activate more than just the language-processing areas of our brains.  For example, words with strong odor associations ("cinnamon") activate the primary olfactory cortex, metaphors involving texture ("the singer had a velvet voice") activate the sensory cortex, and words describing motion ("Pablo kicked the ball") activate the motor cortex.  Even more amazingly, with motion words "this activity was concentrated in one part of the motor cortex when the movement described was arm-related and in another part when the movement concerned the leg" (Murphy Paul, para. 5).

All of these findings from the neuroscience research are fascinating in and of themselves, but the real appeal of the article for me was the way Ms. Murphy Paul used the research to support reading fiction in general and novels in particular.  In fact, the article's pro-fiction stance was the reason I read the article in the first place and then sent the link to my college roommate (who is currently studying to become a reading specialist).

The article almost made me feel guilty for the fact that I'm currently reading a biography and not a novel :)  In my defense, though, it's a biography of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and I have been fascinated by the two of them for years.  Plus, I (finally) just read The Hunger Games in a matter of hours, so it's not like I've been neglecting fiction.  On the contrary, I'm far more likely to read fiction than nonfiction.

The last pair of studies cited in the article found that "individuals who frequently read fiction seem to be better able to understand other people, empathize with them and see the world from their perspective" (Murphy Paul, para. 9).  Ms. Murphy Paul closed the article by noting that "these findings will affirm the experience of readers...who have found themselves comparing a plucky young woman to Elizabeth Bennet" (Murphy Paul, para. 11) and in doing so managed to combine my love of novels in general and Pride and Prejudice (and Lizzie Bennet) in particular with my fascination with the human brain.


Murphy Paul, A. (2012, March 17). The neuroscience of your brain on fiction. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-neuroscience-of-your-brain-on-fiction.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2