Like other children, my mother made a bibliophile out of me at age four by reading to me everyday, and now, thanks to a new study published in Pediatrics, I have yet another reason to be thankful on Mother’s Day. According to the research team led by pediatrician John Hutton of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Ohio, living in a house filled with books may also influence a child’s brain activity.
What defines bookishness?
To begin, researchers measured the bookishness (devotion to reading over other interests) of 19 preschoolers, ranging from three to five years old, through a questionnaire, which asked questions about the amount of reading they receive, the number of library visits they make in a week, and the number and variety of books they have at home. The team then scanned the childrens’ brains during story time using a functional MRI.
In the scanner, the children listened to exciting stories with plot twists such as, “The frog jumped over the log.” Sure, these aren’t twists like in Inception, but just remember: the study worked with four year olds. They wouldn’t understand whole “dream levels” thing (honestly, it took us a while).
At the end of the story—and the study—the results show that children who grew up in more book-friendly homes showed signs of higher brain activation in the parietal-temporal-occipital region than children who interacted with fewer books. This region, located on the back left side of the brain, is a specific area linked to literary skills like mental imagery and story comprehension, both necessary for any imagination.
It’s important to note, however, that a child’s brain activation is not restricted to only the number of books they encounter. “Our study, the way it’s designed, can only show association,” said Hutton concerning the link between book-filled homes and active brains. “It provides a signal for areas that we think are going to be important.”
So what other plot twists are there?
While the study comes to some promising conclusions, it also creates even more questions about the relationship between books and brains. While some concerns surround the lasting brain activity of children as they grow and the reliability of the fMRI when working with children, the largest question surrounds tradition vs. technology.
The unknown impact of the digital book over the traditional book is a large, new wrinkle in the researchers’—and book-lovers’—brains. While we know both the printed and the e-book are not dying out anytime soon, researchers are still not certain how books on smartphone screens influence a child’s brain.
However, as scientists work to understand this link, Hutton states that reading to children using digital books is probably OK, so long as both the parent and child remain engaged with the book at hand.
“I think there is value to all of them as long as the parent stays involved in the process with the child, and the child is encouraged to use his imagination as much as possible,” Hutton said. So turn off the television and pull out the children’s books—this new tradition may be just the thing your child needs.
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