Home reading environment helps brain development in kids

The study by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center found that there is a real science behind reading to children as it helps in benefiting the brain development of children. It was presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in San Diego.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique was used in the research to find out the direct evidence of reading effects on the brain.
 
For the study, the researchers included 19 children between the ages of 3 and 5 years old. The parents of these children were questioned about the parent-child reading, access to books, reading frequency and book variety, parent-child interaction, and teaching of specific skills like counting or shapes.

The brain activity of the children while listening to a story on headphones was measured during an fMRI. But the researchers didn’t consider the visual stimulus. It was proved that the reading exposure before going to school has a significant impact on how stories are processed by the brain of a child.

"Areas of strongest correlation with home reading environment were exclusively in the left hemisphere, known to support language. Specifically, in a posterior region referred to as the parietal-temporal-occipital (PTO) multi-modal association cortex," Dr. John Hutton, study author and pediatrician at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center said to media.

Dr Hutton said that "Home reading environment was positively associated with greater activation of brain areas known to support mental imagery. To understand the story, the children are required to use their imaginations to "see" what is happening, for comprehension."

By Lizitha