Learning to read may enhance brain’s visual responses: studySeptember 23, 2019 - 12:58 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - New research suggests that learning to read activates the same areas of the brain that process non-written visual objects such as houses, faces and tools. Instead of negatively affecting brain responses to such objects, reading causes increased brain responses to them, according to the study published in the journal Science Advances, Cosmos Magazine says. Learning to read causes the development of a letter- and word-selective brain region known as the visual word form area (VWFA). However, some researchers have claimed that the development of this area takes up space that is otherwise available for processing objects. To decipher what really happens, researchers led by Alexis Hervais-Adelman from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in the Netherlands recruited 29 completely illiterate adults from two rural villages near Lucknow in northern India for a six-month literacy training program. The participants learned to read and write the alphabet, two-letter and three-letter words and sentences, including basic grammar rules such as verbs, nouns, pronouns, tense and gender in Devanagari script, the writing system for Hindi, the local language. The researchers then used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine how their brains changed as they learned to read and write, comparing the cohort with both an illiterate group from the same area that received no literacy training and a literate group. They found no evidence that brain areas for responding to non-word objects shrank in the brains of participants in the literacy program. Instead, reading reuses the same brain areas that are usually used for processing objects, keeping such areas intact. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Pasadena to host Armenian Genocide commemoration event The Pasadena Armenian Coalition will host its community-wide Armenian Genocide Commemorative Event. Armenia: Opposition activist transferred to Investigative Committee Activist Samvel Vardanyan has been accused of insulting the lawmaker Hakob Aslanyan from the ruling Civil Contract party. Former Pashinyan envoy urges end to Genocide speculation Marukyan has urged authorities in Armenia stop discussions about verifying the names of 1.5 million victims. Azerbaijan, Jordan sign deal on defense cooperation Azerbaijan and Jordan have signed an agreement on cooperation in the field of defense, according to an official statement. |