Brain study can you read this

Many kids dream of being smarter or more creative. If you search the internet, you will find games and programs claiming to help you with just that: boosting your brainpower.

But is it really possible to make your brain work better? And are these so-called brain-training games worth your valuable time?

After reading this article, you can decide for yourself! Have you ever thought about why some children excel in sports, whereas others are better at playing the guitar or performing mathematics calculations?

Can you blame your genes for not being able to concentrate, or should you just try harder? For many years, scientists have tried to find out which parts of our talents and abilities are determined by our genes and which parts are influenced by the environment. It turns out that there is no simple answer to this question, because genes and the environment always work together [ 1 ].

Although your genes may influence the upper limits of your performance and your capacity to learn, your environment determines how your abilities actually develop.

Thus, there is some built-in flexibility in the way your brain develops. This helps you to adjust to the environment that you grow up in. To explain this idea, we would like to introduce fictional John and Ron Figure 1. Let us imagine that, for some reason, John and Ron are separated right after birth and raised in separate families. John grows up in a very athletic family, whereas Ron grows up in a family that is fond of reading and writing.

Whereas, John grows up to be an avid runner, Ron becomes a writer when he is older. But what about being smart or talented in school? Research has shown that excelling in school has a lot to do with what are called executive functions [ 2 ]. Executive functions are a set of abilities that help you do complex tasks, such as planning your schoolwork, completing assignments, and having control over your emotions and frustrations.

One of the most important executive functions is called working memory. Working memory allows you to hold information in mind and perform mental operations, for example, adding large numbers in your mind Figure 2A. Another important executive function is inhibition , which helps you to resist distractions and temptations, for example, the temptation to eat the entire jar of cookies Figure 2B.

A third executive function is cognitive flexibility , which helps you to quickly shift your attention back and forth between different tasks, like switching back and forth between your homework and your YouTube feed Figure 2C. To measure executive functions, researchers have designed a number of games that can be played on the computer Figures 2D—F. The semantic maps could also aid the study of healthy people and those with conditions that affect brain function, such as stroke, epilepsy, and injuries that can impair speech.

Deniz suggests that the maps could also give fresh insights into dyslexia, a common neurological condition that impairs ability to read. Dyslexia arises from a difference in brain wiring and does not affect intelligence. Most people with dyslexia can learn to read with appropriate teaching. According to the International Dyslexia Association, around 1 in 10 people have dyslexia, although many have not received a diagnosis or any help.

She also sees the maps being useful in the understanding of auditory processing impairments. People with these conditions cannot make out the phonemes, or subtle sound differences, in words.

Whether you see reading as a chore or an enjoyable pastime, it can offer a wealth of benefits for health and well-being. We take at look at what these…. Scientists use brain imaging to reveal the movies in our mind. Scientists construct first map of how the brain organizes everything we see.

Color-coded maps of the brain show the semantic similarities during listening top and reading bottom. Opening the door to inner narratives The findings, appearing today Aug. The interactive 3D brain viewer is scheduled to go online this week. Publication Date :.

Press Inquiries. Press Contact : Sarah McDonnell. Phone: Fax: Caption : Neuroscientists have long wondered why the brain has a region exclusively dedicated to reading — a skill that is unique to humans and only developed about 5, years ago. Caption :. Pre-existing connections Kanwisher and Saygin have found that the VWFA is connected to language regions of the brain in adults, but the new findings in children offer strong evidence that those connections exist before reading is learned, and are not the result of learning to read, according to Stanislas Dehaene, a professor and the chair of experimental cognitive psychology at the College de France, who wrote a commentary on the paper for Nature Neuroscience.

Related Articles. Brain scans may help diagnose dyslexia. Patterns of connections reveal brain functions.